Tagged: national rifle association

Missouri first-graders could see an addition to their curriculum under a bill given first-round approval in the Missouri Senate.

The measure endorsed Tuesday would give school districts the option to teach a National Rifle Association-sponsored gun safety program to students in first grade. It would also allow schools to implement a training program for teachers and other personnel on responding to intruders.

Missouri first-graders would have to take a gun safety course under a bill being considered by a state Senate committee.

Sen. Dan Brown, a Republican from Rolla, outlined his proposal Tuesday for the chamber's General Laws Committee. No one spoke in opposition, and the committee did not vote on it.

The bill would mandate the teaching of the National Rifle Association's Eddie Eagle Gunsafe Program in every first-grade classroom. Brown says it would teach young children what to do if they come across an unsecured weapon.

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill is circulating an online petition urging the National Rifle Association to "make their voice a part of the solution" to prevent future mass killings like the one last week in Newtown, Connecticut.