Should a safety class be required to get a gun license?

A post I made on northeastshooters.com (NES) on 21APLRIL2010

TO THOSE THAT THINK A SAFETY COURSE REQUIREMENT SHOULD BE MANDATORY:

I GET IT. I completely understand the way you feel. I used to think it was reasonable too. I was not against a safety course requirement because I don’t want to be accidentally SHOT by some noob diddling with his firearm while walking by my house or at the range. It seemed so reasonable a requirement to me that I did not give it much thought and I even believed that every responsible gun owner felt the same way. Then, a few years ago I joined NES. Soon thereafter, I read NESers saying that it was NOT reasonable. This surprised me and caused me to re-evaluate my reasoning. I thought, these people are down to earth, reasonable, responsible people…..why would they advocate for NO SAFETY requirements to obtain a firearm even for first time buyers? It was at this point, the point where I actually took time to think about it, that I realized something even MORE fundamental than safety: FEAR. I realized I was afraid of ignorant gun owners. It was this fear that was motivating me to rely on the government to protect me by requiring a safety course before buying a gun. I thought WOW! This is EXACTLY what I accuse anti-gun people of doing when they say they want restrictions and bans on firearms! I realized that while I was telling the antis “You either believe in the Constitution OR you don't! You cant have it both ways!” at the same time I believed that safety course requirements were reasonable even though the constitution says “… the right of the people to bear arms shall not be infringed”. I WAS WRONG. I was a hypocrite. Once I connected all the dots and realized all this I changed my mind for good. I had already believed that there were trade-offs to living in a FREE society, I now realize that noobs with guns walking by my house or standing next to me at the range is one of the trade-offs. I believe in freedom, so I must accept the trade-offs of freedom.

I do believe that all gun owners should voluntarily seek professional instruction for firearm safety. I also believe that things can be done to nudge new gun owners in the right direction in a “course not required” world. Maybe a “Firearms Safety Education Campaign” sponsored by the NRA where literature is provided to firearms dealers that can be passed on to customers (when the dealer realizes that the customer is buying their first gun). Maybe the gun culture will adopt peer-pressure as a motivational tool to get noobs to train. There is probably a bunch of effective ways to get new gun owners to voluntarily seek training. But the WRONG way is to give-up freedom and ask the government to simply require training. We must get away from the government being in the habit of protecting us from ourselves.

/John