The proposal unfairly places the responsibility of gun safety on children rather than their parents, said Barbara Gentry of the Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah.
Elementary age children would learn about gun safety on at least three occasions by the time they reach sixth grade, with the possibility for that instruction to begin in kindergarten, when kids are around five years old.
Gun violence prevention advocates have applauded Utah Republicans for pushing for more gun safety education, but some argue those lessons should be aimed at adults.
“Guns and gun safety are the responsibility of the adult gun owner, not school children," Gentry said.
One other state, Tennessee, has a law on the books requiring firearm safety training in public schools, but it lets education officials determine in which grade they think it's appropriate for students to start receiving that instruction.
