On Tuesday, May 11, 2010, Governor Brewer signed HB 2725, an education omnibus bill, which contained technical changes improving the state’s high-school marksmanship law, The Arizona Gun Safety Program.
The changes make the classes easier to organize and deliver. Any school district or charter school in the state is authorized to teach the elective one-credit class, which includes lessons in firearm safety, the constitutional roots of the Second Amendment, the role of firearms in preserving peace and freedom and the history and operation of firearms and marksmanship. To pass the course students must get practice time at a shooting range, including use of clay targets, and safely discharge firearms.
Previously, instructors had to be certified by the Arizona Game and Fish Dept., or a national association of firearms owners, leading to some confusion and bottlenecks. Under the new changes, “A person who is currently certified as a firearms safety instructor by the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the National Rifle Association, a federal, state or local law enforcement agency, a branch of the United States military, a federal agency, the Reserve Officer Training Corps, the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps or the Civilian Marksmanship Program is qualified to teach the Arizona Gun Safety Program course.”
Other changes make it clear that real firearms must be used, preventing some efforts to substitute non-guns such as air rifles or laser toys in the course. Non-guns may still be used as part of the training, but only use of real firearms qualifies for completing the course requirements. The bill also clarifies that completion of the course earns one credit toward a high school diploma. The changes are found on pages 51 and 52 of HB 2725: http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/hb2725s.pdf
The effective date of HB 2725 is July 29, 2010.
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