CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- West Virginia is considering offering gun training to children in school.
The move comes as the state watches its hunting population age, and sales of hunting permits drop, leaving a hole in the state budget.
Senator Billy Bailey has introduced a bill that would provide hunting instruction to 7th, 8th and 9th graders, with topics ranging from survival skills to gun safety. Children as young as 10 are already eligible for hunting licenses in the state.
Bailey doesn't envision kids firing real guns during class time. Guns would have dummy ammunition or be disabled.
Bailey says the training would also properly teach children that there are consequences to gun use.
One gun violence prevention group says its primary concern is children with unauthorized access to guns, and that it doesn't have a problem with supervised training programs.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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