Tennessee Firearms Assoc. Inc.

After our local Knoxville TFA meeting the other night I got to thinking, why don't we offer free gun safety classes to our communities? It would be a great way to encourage people who don't know alot about guns to get free training and hopefully get them to understand that guns really aren't dangerous if treated with proper respect. The incident with our Knox County law director's son is a sign that those of us who do know safety need to be sharing it as much as possible. Heck, I had my mother-in-law do the exact same thing-eject the mag, didn't clear the chamber and then pull the trigger--lucky for her she wasn't pointing at anything important (but she sure learned her lesson!)

The only thing I might be concerned about is would there be any liability as far as the TFA goes. John, you might be able to answer the legal side of this.

Matthew

I think this is a very good question...I certainly like the idea.

However, aside form potential liability, I would say that a problem would be getting qualified instructors to conduct the classes for free.

I say that because my impression is that one of the reasons these folks teach such classes is either to make a living or at least supplement their income...if that's a correct impression than asking them teach such classes for free is quite a bit to ask as they would neither get paid for the class they are teaching nor for a class they might be able to teach somewhere else.

Correct, some of the reasons are

a) liability
b) how does TFA determine who is qualified to teach - for example, do we rely on the NRA civilian instructor certification, some alternative or create our own
c) cost - who would do it for free or even minimal cost
d) range access - at what cost
e) consistency across the state - would we need some type of course outline so that minimal standards are met statewide?

Robert is on the money.. I am able to teach a basic NRA safety course, but I've been laid off, so I haven't purchased the insurance from the NRA yet to teach. If someone were to pitch in for the insurance costs, & cover the small fees for the training kits, I'd volunteer my time, for a limited time event. However we do pay a few hundred bucks to get certified, & a few hundred more a year for liability insurance, so I wouldn't feel right undercutting other instructors who are trying to make their investment in certification & knowledge back. All this is to say that for a weekend, or one week event I think it's a great idea, but I don't think it's a great idea to try & fund it long term. The instruction materials cost about $15 per person..

One of the ideas that has been discussed during some of the Nashville chapter meetings is partnering with a program such as the where TFA schedule the events with local clubs and promote them but a professional and consistent program would be taught by the partner. I know there have been a few Appleseed courses so far in Tennessee. I am not necessarily suggesting that only the Appleseed project would be considered but more along the lines of partnering with a group or organization that has as its focus teaching such courses. The NRA programs may be worth looking as well.

One phrase safety course: Treat every firearm as though it was loaded.

I know in other sports where instruction is provided, it carries much more weight if you have a larger group behind you. Established course outlines, a history of safe instruction and such.

It seems a partnership to sponsor an event with an established organization would be the way to go. No need to reinvent the wheel.

An Appleseed is a very good worthwhile event, but if you want something to cover the basics and get people exposed to gun handling and basic safety, a shorter program like you said might be best. Many people are more likely to attend something that lasts 3-4 hours vs. 1 or 2 whole days. Perhaps something similar to the HCP class, but with a slightly broader scope?

Guys I can see the positive everyone is trying to put forth with this. It is something I had considered bringing up here but also figured it had been mentioned before. The main problem I see with this is this, How are you going to get the people that are already scared as hell of firearms to even come to something like this? The people that are anti-gun, will not attend anything like this except maybe a reporter to write a story that puts thir slant on it.

Perhaps we are going in a slightly incorrect direction…perhaps the way to approach this is not a “training class” so much as simply an honest discussion about firearms…I could see an entire “series” of these things such as the part firearms have played in our country’s history…their various use (protection, hunting, shooting sports) as well as how safe modern firearms are.

While I don’t know for sure, I suspect that there is a lot of material already available (probably even for free) that we could use for this…we might even be able to get some local celebrities to be something of an MC for some of these forums.

I’m just sort of thinking out loud here but I guess my main idea is not to bill this as a “class” or actually do any shooting which I would think would eliminate a lot of the concerns about liability.

Obviously, we would have to do this with volunteers but I’ve got to believe there are qualified people out there who would be willing to lend a hand.

Good ideas all around in here.

A non-shooting basic course would be great.
Appleseed classes would be good, but are best for people who have gone shooting a couple of times - many first-time shooters get frustrated at them.

More ideas would be great. Perhaps somehow integrating them? Adding more?