PRINEVILLE, OR -- Two local gun-rights advocates hope students will soon be required to take a firearms safety class. Ston McDaniel, of Prineville, and Jerrad Robison, of Redmond, recently filed Initiative Petition Six in Salem. It would make gun safety courses mandatory for Oregon sixth graders. 

McDaniel, the chief petitioner, tells KBND News, "We teach all these common safety things to kids, 'here's a pair of scissors, don't run with them,' 'knives are sharp,' we teach fire safety, we teach kids why seat belts are important, sex ed, poison control. With as many firearms as are out in our country, it is important for kids to understand how to conduct themselves safely around firearms." 

He insists there is no target training, "It's important to remember this is not a firearms training course. We're not pushing to teach these kids how to shoot firearms. It's professionals in the firearms venue teaching kids firearm safety." He says instructors would need to be certified by law enforcement or a national or state firearms instruction organization, and parents could opt their children out of the class.