Late news: It is reported that the US House of Representatives voted 424 to 1 to overturn the provisions of the law which triggered this commentary.

The Cowboy State Daily reports that the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is reacting to federal agencies interpreting that federal statute (2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA)) as banning federal funds going to teaching hunter/firearm safety and archery. Wyoming G&F is providing funds to schools in the State to pay for instructors and materials to do just that: teach school students hunter (and therefore, at least some gun) safety and how to hunt using a bow and arrows (safely, of course). That foolish law prohibits federal education funds from helping provide any person with a dangerous weapon or to provide “training in the use of a dangerous weapon,” but, according to the BSCA’s sponsors, was included to prevent ESEA funding for school resource officer training.

Most of the commentary appearing is bewailing the efforts of the current regime of Uncle Joe and his co-conspirators to restrict or take away our right to keep and bear arms. (Which extends, we note, to archery as well as riflery and use of pistols.) And destroy the gun culture and its sister hunting culture.

Now, all of this may be exactly what is going on. (Although the appointment of the VPOTUS, dear incompetent and hated woman that she is, to head the new gun control office makes us doubt the claimed motives.) But is that really the point?

Virtually all governments naturally seek to eliminate any ability to resist them – it is part of their rebellion against the Creator and hatred of human liberty. No matter how much they tout their love for freedom. Governments which openly and actively support the God-given right to keep and bear arms (to defend ourselves and others) are very rare.

Perhaps the point is this, for lovers of liberty: what business does government have supporting and funding training in the use of weapons?

Many lovers of liberty will argue that there is no reason for government to do this. But minarchists at least will argue that training in the use of arms is something that “legitimate government” has an interest in supporting. They may even point to medieval England requiring that all able men train in use of the longbow – archery – to provide for “defense of the realm” (and of course, constant invasions whereever the King could persuade Parliament to fund).

We disagree, for several reasons. First, while hunting safety is closely connected to the use of arms in general, it is not truly training in arms. Nor in 2023 is the art/science of archery. The now-dead Republic survived for nearly 200 years without federal funding of such things. But the real issue here is the overall umbrella: what authorizes the FedGov to provide a single dime to primary and secondary education? Again, the States survived for almost two centuries without that. It is NOT the function of the FedGov to steal tax money and pay for educrats to indoctrinate children and teens. One last thing: there may be some justification for state-funded training for military skills. Why should not public schools provide more trainng in arms than just hunting safety? Things like armed and unarmed combat and marksmanship, field first aid, communications, map-reading, target identification, and more?

Or is that something that parents and other relatives should provide? (We think so.)

Wyoming is doing things with at least a modicum of common sense: it is the State that can justify both the morality of funding training in arms – even if just hunting safety so that young people can go out and hunt and gain valuable combat skills which they can use to defend their community and State. Ditto for archery, as far as valuable skills to wage what is now unconventional war against enemies of liberty, prosperity, and peace. And it is not quite as bad – it is not money stolen from taxpayers but money at least voluntarily paid by hunters to support their hunting.

(We know that there is still an issue regarding government-run taxpayer (theft)-funded education institutions. The solution to that (separation of school and state) is more difficult to implement, we believe, but support. Our commentary here is primarily about what still seems to be an attempt to destroy gun culture, as part of a federal war on private gun ownership and use.

Afterword: it appears that a great public outcry resulted in the incredible House vote. Wunderbar! It may also indicate that more and more Democrats are fed up with Uncle Joe and his ailments and aims.

Finally, we must understand that just because Members of Congress voted out of fear to end this nonsense, it still must pass the Democratic/Woke-dominated Senate. And this is far from the last attempt that will be made to weaken gun culture and gun ownership in the States.