Buckeye Reporter

A recent article in USA Today highlighted internal conflict within Everytown for Gun Safety after the launch of its new online firearms training program, Train SMART. The program, intended to promote firearm safety, has met resistance from some of the organization’s own members and supporters.

The opposition centers on concerns that providing firearm safety training contradicts Everytown’s mission to reduce gun violence by discouraging gun ownership. One supporter described the program as “hurtful and insulting to survivors,” explaining, “Our mission is to reduce gun violence and keep people from having guns in their homes, and here you are, giving a gun safety class that encourages gun ownership. You can’t have it both ways.” Another former member resigned her position with a local survivor group over the initiative, stating it felt “like a kick in the teeth” after years spent advocating for expanded background checks.

John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, addressed the criticism by telling USA Today that any new program generates “curiosity, enthusiasm, and skepticism.” He also attempted to characterize Everytown as a “wide tent … as opposed to being … anti-gun or hardline gun control.”

Everytown’s lead trainer noted that participants will be taught about increased risks associated with having firearms at home and that purchasing a gun should not always be considered essential for home defense.

The current version of Train SMART is available only online. There are plans to add in-person and range sessions next year. Some critics within Everytown argue that resources would be better spent on efforts to ban guns rather than developing new training programs.

The debate underscores ongoing divisions among gun control advocates about how best to address firearm safety and ownership in the United States.