Tanner Conley
Staff Writer
Wyoming legislators are debating a bill that would allow schools to teach hunter’s education and firearm safety classes as early as middle school.
This bill is sponsored by Sen. Ogden Driskill, a republican representing Crook, Campbell and Weston counties, who is also the Senate Vice President for the 2019-20 session.
With Wyoming being infamous for its high suicide rate and shockingly high rate of gun violence, according to a study from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, this bill looks to properly educate students about firearm safety and proper storage techniques.
“This bill’s not just about hunting in the field. Even if you hate guns, when you’re in Wyoming, your kids are going to come across one once in their life. It’s critical to understand how they work. I really do believe safety is a key component of this bill,” Driskill said in an interview with the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
The introduction of this bill aims to give access to firearm training and hunting education to students who do not come from hunting families or lifestyles. In turn, the bill will lead to more licenses sold and more hunting products bought to boost the economy.
Carter Magnus, co-founder of The Rendezvous podcast on Spotify and a Wyoming student, is a product of the hunting lifestyle in Wyoming.
“I started hunting when I turned twelve, but I’d gone hunting with my dad ever since I was a little kid, eight even. I would just go up and camp with him, follow him around and whatnot,” Magnus said.
Magnus, like hundreds of other Wyoming hunters, took a hunter’s education course when he was a child. Magnus said these courses teach far more than just simply etiquette.
“They mainly teach you how to hunt with other people in the area and how to keep other people safe, as well as yourself. Things like ‘don’t shoot at everything you see moving’ because for all you know, it might be a deer, but it might be a person walking through the trees. Also, [things like] when you are carrying a rifle you don’t want to point it at anyone,” said Magnus.
The value of these courses also extends far beyond reaching potential hunters. It also works to educate students on the reality of living and Wyoming and the amount of responsibility with firearms that entails. Magnus said that with Wyoming being one of the most heavily armed states, it makes it pretty easy to get a hold of guns.
“I think everyone should be educated to the point where they know ‘yes this is a very dangerous weapon, it can hurt people, you have to be very careful with it.’ Even if you aren’t ‘for’ having a gun, it’s still knowledge that people should have, given everything that is going on in the world right now with gun violence and shootings,” said Magnus.
This bill has just made it through the Committee of the Whole (COW) and is pending a “Second Reading”. At this stage, the bill will be subjected to potential amendments from any member or to move the bill to a standing committee. From here, these amendments are added, and the bill is read for a third time, before finally being voted on by the members of the voting body.
Providing both the Senate and House agree on the final bill, it is presented to the Governor, who then signs the bill into law, or vetoes it outright. In the event of a veto, the bill is returned to each body and can be signed into law pending two-thirds vote.
