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 “More than half of gun owners say they’ve received gun training,”
said lead author David Hemenway, director of the Harvard Injury
Control Research Center at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
in Boston. “We wanted to know if what’s in the training manuals is
actually being taught.”
Hemenway and colleagues created a checklist of topics based on
advice from expert firearm safety instructors and existing training
manuals.
In 2014-2016, 14 adult volunteers attended basic handgun safety
classes for civilians in seven states: Connecticut, Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Three of the states (Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island)
require training before receiving a concealed carry permit, gun
license or permit to purchase. They also require background checks
or proof that the buyer has a gun permit for private gun sales. The
other four states (Maine, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Vermont)
have more permissive gun laws that include no basic firearm training
requirements, the authors note online October 7 in Injury
Prevention.
The research team audited a total of 20 firearm training courses,
including 12 in the states with training requirements and 8 in the
states without requirements. They looked for more than 70 topics
that could be covered during classes, such as firearm anatomy,
firearm operation, firearm laws, gun storage, gun accident
prevention, self-defense gun use, suicide prevention, firearm
statistics, gun theft prevention and live fire practice.
“We didn’t do this study as a ‘gotcha.’ We looked for any kind of
training and variability and didn’t judge by quality,” Hemenway
said. “Our goal is to figure out ways that public health workers and
gun trainers can work together to reduce issues.”
Overall, the training courses lasted an average of six hours and
cost about $130. Most included a live fire component about 40
minutes long. Only two safety topics - pointing the gun muzzle in
the safest direction and keeping one’s finger off the trigger until
ready to shoot - were covered 100% of the time.
About 95% of courses covered basic pistol anatomy and how to check
whether a gun is loaded, and 90% explained how to load and unload a
gun and be sure of both a target and who or what may be beyond it.
About 50% to 75% explained how to operate a gun lock, operate a
safety, clear jams and handle cartridge malfunctions.
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About 80% of the training sessions discussed relevant state laws
regarding licensing and permitting, and 50% to 70% covered liability
laws, child access prevention rules and state and federal
disqualifications for gun possession. In addition, 90% discussed
using a gun safe, the study authors found.
However, the study team writes, only two out of 20 instructors, or
10%, discussed the topic of guns being involved in suicide or
domestic violence at all.
Similarly, just 20% mentioned that gun theft is a major source of
guns used in crimes.
“The overwhelming majority of gun rights advocacy groups, medical
and public health professional organizations and the American people
believe that learning about firearm safety can be an important step
in preventing firearm injuries,” said Dr. Ali Rowhani-Rahbar of the
University of Washington School of Public Health in Seattle who
wasn’t involved in the study.
“Unfortunately, our knowledge about what is actually taught in
firearm training classes is severely limited,” he told Reuters
Health by email, adding that this study highlights the gaps.
“We can do better to expand content by incorporating components that
have notable public health significance, such as suicide prevention
and theft prevention,” Rowhani-Rahbar said. “This goal has the
potential to save lives and prevent injuries.”
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2yEfQJD
Inj Prev 2017.
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