Mandate gun safety course

Saw a letter suggesting that you need a license for gun purchases. Right idea, wrong approach. There should be a federal regulation preventing someone from purchasing a gun, or ammunition, without a certificate showing they attended a course in gun safety. Ammunition is included to force current gun owners to take the course. Veterans are exempt.

Courses are to be 15 minutes long, taught by gun store owners and their clerks, all NRA certified. Gun shows would run courses constantly. All courses are to be free and open to all. A photo ID card would be issued, with 10 safety tips on the back. ID would be good for lifetime.

In Coeur d’Alene, a toddler pulled a gun from mother’s concealed-carry purse and shot and killed her. Also in Coeur d’Alene, a young man riding in a car with friends accidentally shot himself in the head. Both deaths could have been prevented, if they had attended a gun safety course. No round in the chamber.

We (NRA members) have a moral imperative to help prevent accidental gun deaths. No trigger locks or smart guns will prevent accidental gun deaths. Knowledge will.

Terrance Wolferman

Coeur d’Alene