A gun instructor teaching a young boy how to shoot a semi-auto 9mm carbine rifle at a shooting range in Warsaw, Poland back in August of 2022. (Photo provided by Shutterstock/Poppy Pix)
January 06, 2025
By David Codrea
“The Nicolaus Copernicus School in in Skarszewy, Poland, is a normal primary school with students from the 1st to the 8th grade,” a mid-December “Focus on Europe” video report by Axel Rowohlt from German Public Broadcast Service DW News documents . “Weaponry class is now mandatory in Polish schools and could soon become a favorite,” he elaborates. While the 13-to-14-year-olds students “don't use live ammunition but lasers,” they enthusiastically embrace the training as “fun” and “really cool,” and “18,000 schools across the country will get the equipment as part of their safety training,” the report explains.
Unlike in the land of the Second Amendment, where gun prohibitionists who demand avoidance and ignorance label themselves as “commonsense gun safety advocates,” the training is embraced by educators, politicians and parents. In a way, it’s reminiscent of an earlier time in this country, in the days before “mass shootings,” when school rifle teams and training were not uncommon, including in urban areas like Chicago.
“With the state of the world today, I think this training is very valuable” the school’s principal elaborated, referencing Russia's invasion of “next door” Ukraine and the threat felt by Poland. “They're not too young to shoot because the passion for shooting like any sport develops from an early age,” the Mayor of Skarszewy echoes.
The same goes for two mothers interviewed, both proud of their children who “want to be on the right side of history, to defend our country, and to be patriotic.” And naturally, the idea is supported by a nearby gun shop owner, who cites Poland’s relatively “liberal laws” saying, “Procedures are very easy going and, in a way, it is much easier to obtain the gun license in Poland than driving license.”
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Polish citizens shooting an M16A1-type rifle, and other firearms, at a public range. (Photo provided by Shutterstock/Poppy Pix) Citing and linking to Polish sources, Wikipedia summarizes: “Polish law allows modern firearms ownership on a general shall-issue basis under police-issued permit for people who provide an important reason. Hunting, sport shooting, training, and collecting are the most popular reasons and require membership in suitable organizations. Self-defense permits for civilians are chief exceptions to the rule, where a may-issue based permit is required… Firearm owners are subject to mental health and domestic violence confiscation laws resembling U.S red flag laws.”
It’s not “shall not be infringed by a long shot, but in many ways reflects the laundry list of prohibitions imposed in U.S. “blue” states. The Democrats’ well-publicized objective is to expand restrictions nationwide and have a long-documented goal of banning not just politically “disfavored” rifles, shotguns, and pistols, but ultimately, all handguns. Poland has set its trajectory in the opposite direction, but there’s still some pushback.
“There is very little protest against shooting lessons for pupils,” Rowohlt confirms, before presenting “dissenting voices that complain it’s “really sad,” that “there's already so much violence and now they've introduced this you're afraid to go outside,” and that children “aren't mature enough yet. Teaching these skills could backfire.”
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A mostly positive attitude toward training is a world apart from the politically fueled hostility we typically encounter in the U.S., as usual, the “antis” offer no solutions. Their objections are a reflection of the childish character of those who conflate “commonsense gun safety” with pretending that what they don’t want to face can be ignored, and who angrily attack anyone who challenges their suicidal “no means of defense” orthodoxy. It’s lazy, cowardly, parasitical if you think about it, and unworthy of the sacrifices that have been necessary “to secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”
About the Author : David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. In addition to being a regular featured contributor for Firearms News and AmmoLand Shooting Sports News , he blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
Sources: Poland makes firearms training mandatory for schoolchildren | Focus on Europe
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