The decision was made less than a day before the East Wake High School (North Carolina) marksmanship team was set to face off in a statewide shooting competition. At the behest of one of the principals of East Wake, along with the superintendent, the school team was barred from competing in the competition.
Wake County, like many school districts, bans the presence of firearms from campuses and school sponsored trips. In this case, however, the decision to prohibit the team from competing extends the ban to state sponsored events, at an off campus location, and under the supervision of adults with firearms training. State law allows for firearm education at schools, while the decision goes directly against it. The decision also goes against efforts from wild life agencies, hunting organizations and other groups engaged in recruiting and replenishing the number hunters. It also goes against the cultural tradition of hunting in rural Wake. All of this for fear of a school massacre occurring.
The 16 member marksman and orienteering team is an offshoot of the school’s future farmers of America. The decision tossed away months of practice and hard work. Had the decision been made sooner, it could have been challenged.
Many Wake schools have marksmanship teams, allowing the use of air rifles at school sanctioned events, such as Cary High School’s Navy JROTC program. But according to the superintendent, JROTC programs are part of the curriculum while FAA programs are not. Ultimately, it came down to the decision made by the superintendent, who made his decision once another school sought permission to participate.
For the past thirty years, the Wildlife Commission tournament has been providing an incentive to middle and high school students to participate in a hunter education course, part of a broader goal of attracting new faces to hunting.
In response to the decision, the International Hunter Education Association expressed concern over the repercussions of such a decision. Their argument is towards the fact that prohibiting participation was a counter productive measure when it comes to the prevention of gun violence.
The event involves a combination of skeet shooting, archery, navigation and rifle marksmanship. The goal is to attract new hunters but more importantly provides means to learn about gun safety and what happens in the case of unsafe gun handling. Without the program, there is no incentive or opportunity to get the gun safety training. This can only lead to unsafe circumstances in many situations. The risk of any sort of school shooting, given the presence of adult supervision, is nil. Studies have in fact shown that it is due to wild life programs that gun safety has largely improved.
All in all, we have a school that is making its decisions out of fear and not looking towards prevention through education, not prohibition. There is clear evidence of the positive effect that education about firearms provides when given to the youth, and these wildlife programs are what enable the state to provide that education. They also help to bring fresh faces to the hunting industry.
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Originally posted 2009-01-26 05:48:18. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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