Gun Owner Safety Training
What does it solve?
States should require a person to complete safety training prior to purchasing a gun or carrying a gun in public. Training ensures that gun owners are educated on the responsible practices for handling and using firearms, storing them securely at home and in vehicles, as well as carrying guns in public.
It is common sense that before using a gun, a person should receive training on how to do it safely. But research shows that 39 percent of gun owners have no safety training.1Ali Rowhani-Rahbar et al., “Formal Firearm Training among Adults in the USA: Results of a National Survey,” Injury Prevention 23, no. 2 (2018): 161–65, https://doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2017-042352. Before buying a gun, all people should be required to receive comprehensive firearm training, which should include live-fire training experience. The training should also include instruction on how to securely store and responsibly handle, use, and transport a firearm. Education on self-defense laws, how to de-escalate arguments, and the risks associated with children and people with suicidal thoughts accessing firearms are essential knowledge for gun owners.
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Which states require gun buyers to have firearm training?
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Alabama has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Alaska has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Arizona has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Arkansas has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
California has adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Colorado has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Connecticut has adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Delaware has adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Florida has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Georgia has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Hawaii has adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Idaho has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Illinois has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Indiana has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Iowa has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Kansas has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Kentucky has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Louisiana has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Maine has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Maryland has adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Massachusetts has adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Michigan has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Minnesota has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Mississippi has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Missouri has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Montana has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Nebraska has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Nevada has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
New Hampshire has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
New Jersey has adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
New Mexico has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
New York has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
North Carolina has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
North Dakota has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Ohio has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Oklahoma has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Oregon has adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Pennsylvania has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Rhode Island has adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
South Carolina has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
South Dakota has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Tennessee has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Texas has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Utah has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Vermont has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Virginia has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Washington has adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
West Virginia has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Wisconsin has not adopted this policy
Training Required to Purchase Guns
Wyoming has not adopted this policy
How it works
Safety training ensures that gun owners know how to use and handle firearms properly as well as store them securely.
Firearm safety training provides gun owners with the proper education on how to handle, use, store, and transport guns, and all gun owners should be required to complete safety training prior to buying one. In a self-defense experiment involving a firearm simulator, participants with lower levels of firearm training and experience performed worse than those with higher levels of training. Many unintentionally “shot” innocent bystanders or unarmed people.1Joseph J. Vince Jr., Timothy Wolfe, and Layton Field, “Firearms Training and Self-Defense: Does the Quality and Frequency of Training Determine the Realistic Use of Firearms by Citizens for Self-Defense? Facts and Evidence for Public Policy Considerations” (Mount St. Mary’s University and the National Gun Victims Action Council, 2015). Firearm safety training is also crucial for gun owners who desire to carry their guns in public. In fact, law enforcement experts, firearm trainers, and military personnel overwhelmingly agree that people who carry concealed weapons in public should take firearm training, including live-fire training.
By the numbers
39%
In a national survey, 39 percent of firearm owners reported they never received formal firearms training.
32%
Rates of violent gun assaults increased 32 percent in states that removed concealed carry licensing that mandated firearm training or proficiency requirements.
74%
In a 2021 survey, an estimated 74 percent of US adults supported requiring concealed carry applicants to pass a test demonstrating safe and lawful use of a firearm.
81%