Everytown’s Gun “Safety” Course – Step One: Don’t Own a Gun

Opinion

Our friends at the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) have reported that Everytown, an active and well-funded anti-gun organization, is now purporting to be branching out into teaching gun owners how to safely handle firearms.

We’ll wait to give you time to stop laughing.

Everytown, as you likely know, is part of billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun conglomerate.

It includes Moms Demand Action—which he absorbed in 2014 when he combined it and Mayors Against Illegal Guns (his original gun-ban enterprise) to form Everytown—and The Trace—his “media” outlet that generates anti-gun propaganda disguised as “journalism.”

The notion of a group that clearly despises guns, gun owners, the right to self-defense, and the Second Amendment teaching gun safety is not just curious; it’s absurd. It would be like Ralph Nader opening a Corvair driving school.

Or perhaps a more accurate analogy would be like Michael Bloomberg teaching a course on running an effective presidential campaign.

Everytown, its owner, and its affiliates have run the gamut of supporting “gun control,” including banning guns; closing gun stores; supporting prohibitions on carrying firearms for self-defense; possibly banning all centerfire rifle ammunition; criminalizing private firearm transfers; tracking lawful firearms purchases made with credit cards; and even denigrating a law-biding citizen (hero, more accurately) who used his firearms safely and responsibly to stop a violent, criminal attack.

This organization, and those affiliated with it, have a long history of falsely claiming it is not anti-gun, then trying to deceive people into believing that the group actually likes guns.

They’ve even worked to encourage authors, Hollywood, and major corporations to promote their messaging against the Second Amendment.  Even worse, Everytown , et al., have tried to cover law enforcement’s defensive gun uses under the umbrella of “gun violence.”

As well, they’ve launched campaigns designed to demonize the firearms industry.  This is done, presumably, to either force them to self-impose restrictions on firearms promoted by Everytown or to drive the manufacturers out of business by promoting meritless lawsuits that try to blame gun manufacturers for the actions of violent criminals.

There have even been attempts to create family strife by encouraging anti-gun advocates to confront family members who don’t share their views on gun control during holiday gatherings.

So forgive us if we are skeptical (to put it mildly) that this organization is truly interested in, or capable of, teaching firearms safety.

More than likely, the course will open with questioning why any of the students would actually want to own a gun.  Then, after about an hour of explaining that they are putting their lives, the lives of their family members, and society in general at greater risk by purchasing a firearm, there might be time left to go into what an anti-gun organization perceives as being “safe” gun handling.

For those who have taken a course that includes numerous “shoot” “don’t shoot” scenarios, there it is unlikely there would be many, if any, “shoot” options deemed to be appropriate.  “Safe” storage options would probably consist of one: Keep firearm unloaded, disassembled, and locked in a safe, preferably at a local gun range.

An “advanced” course on concealed carry seems unlikely, since Everytown has a history of supporting the most onerous restrictions on carrying firearms for self-defense.

Not to brag too much, but NRA has been training people to safely and responsibly handle firearms for more than 150 years, and we have more than 125,000 instructors who teach hundreds of thousands of students every year.  There are numerous disciplines and many experience levels from which one may choose courses.  As an added bonus, our instructors won’t tell you that you shouldn’t have certain firearms that are legal to own.

There are, of course, other courses available besides NRA’s.  While we stand by ours as the gold standard, the fact that is that so many options are out there it makes one wonder why Everytown would seem so determined to reinvent the wheel.

Our guess is the course will be less about safety and more about indoctrinating students into becoming less pro-gun. After all, Everytown helped elect a number of Virginia politicians that ended up introducing bills that sought to shut down NRA’s range (where firearm safety is taught and put into practice) and to limit the availability of safety courses.

There’s one other point to consider regarding an Everytown “safety” course.  Once you register to take it, what’s to stop them from sharing your information?

In short, there are ample reasons for law-abiding gun owners and future gun owners to be wary of Everytown’s new venture.

If you ever see an Everytown gun “safety” class offered, caveat emptor.

About NRA-ILA:

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the “lobbying” arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess, and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Visit: www.nra.org

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Cue the Clown Car: Everytown Gun Control Wants to Train Gun Owners