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Solutions

Gun Owner Safety Training

Gun Owner Safety Training

What does this solve?

States should require a person to complete safety training prior to purchasing a gun or carrying a gun in public. Training ensures that gun owners are educated on the responsible practices for handling and using firearms, storing them securely at home and in vehicles, as well as carrying guns in public.

It is common sense that before using a gun, a person should receive training on how to do it safely. But research shows that 39 percent of gun owners have no safety training.1Ali Rowhani-Rahbar et al., “Formal Firearm Training among Adults in the USA: Results of a National Survey,” Injury Prevention 23, no. 2 (2018): 161–65, https://doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2017-042352. Before buying a gun, all people should be required to receive comprehensive firearm training, which should include live-fire training experience. The training should also include instruction on how to securely store and responsibly handle, use, and transport a firearm. Education on self-defense laws, how to de-escalate arguments, and the risks associated with children and people with suicidal thoughts accessing firearms are essential knowledge for gun owners.

Which states require gun buyers to have firearm training?

9 states have adopted this policy

AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Alabama has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Alaska has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Arizona has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Arkansas has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

California has adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Colorado has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Connecticut has adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Delaware has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Florida has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Georgia has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Hawaii has adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Idaho has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Illinois has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Indiana has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Iowa has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Kansas has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Kentucky has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Louisiana has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Maine has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Maryland has adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Massachusetts has adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Michigan has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Minnesota has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Mississippi has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Missouri has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Montana has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Nebraska has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Nevada has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

New Hampshire has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

New Jersey has adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

New Mexico has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

New York has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

North Carolina has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

North Dakota has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Ohio has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Oklahoma has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Oregon has adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Pennsylvania has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Rhode Island has adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

South Carolina has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

South Dakota has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Tennessee has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Texas has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Utah has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Vermont has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Virginia has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Washington has adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

West Virginia has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Wisconsin has not adopted this policy

Training Required to Purchase Guns

Wyoming has not adopted this policy

How it Works

Safety training ensures that gun owners know how to use and handle firearms properly as well as store them securely.

Firearm safety training provides gun owners with the proper education on how to handle, use, store, and transport guns, and all gun owners should be required to complete safety training prior to buying one. In a self-defense experiment involving a firearm simulator, participants with lower levels of firearm training and experience performed worse than those with higher levels of training. Many unintentionally “shot” innocent bystanders or unarmed people.1Joseph J. Vince Jr., Timothy Wolfe, and Layton Field, “Firearms Training and Self-Defense: Does the Quality and Frequency of Training Determine the Realistic Use of Firearms by Citizens for Self-Defense? Facts and Evidence for Public Policy Considerations” (Mount St. Mary’s University and the National Gun Victims Action Council, 2015). Firearm safety training is also crucial for gun owners who desire to carry their guns in public. In fact, law enforcement experts, firearm trainers, and military personnel overwhelmingly agree that people who carry concealed weapons in public should take firearm training, including live-fire training.

By the numbers

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Gun Owner Safety Training

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