The Hidden Agenda Behind New “Gun Safety” Training

Gun control advocates have always insisted their efforts are about “safety.” Now, Everytown for Gun Safety – the Bloomberg-funded group best known for pushing bans and restrictions – has launched a new initiative called “Train Smart.” The program, which claims to teach Americans how to safely own and use firearms, has been greeted with deep suspicion across the Second Amendment community.

According to Larry Keane, Senior Vice President of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), this move is not about empowering lawful gun owners. Instead, it’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. As Keane wrote, “That’s like getting barbecuing lessons from vegans.”

Larry Keane: A Circus in the Making

Keane attended the National Conference of State Legislatures in Boston, where he witnessed Everytown roll out its pitch to lawmakers. He describes the presentation as almost comedic, a circus act with Greg Lickenbrock – one of Everytown’s token “gun owners” – leading a session on what they call “Gun Ownership 101.”

Keane notes that Everytown’s new program mimics NSSF’s long-running Project ChildSafe, a genuine partnership with law enforcement that has distributed over 41 million free gun locks. The difference? Project ChildSafe promotes voluntary, lifestyle-tailored storage. Everytown, by contrast, supports mandated storage laws and legal penalties.

From Keane’s perspective, “Train Smart” isn’t about promoting safety – it’s about softening the image of a group that has fought relentlessly to restrict Second Amendment rights.

William Kirk: “Gun Safety” Means Disarmament

William Kirk, president of Washington Gun Law and host of its YouTube channel, echoes Keane’s concerns but takes the argument a step further. In his recent video, Kirk warns that when Everytown says “gun safety,” what they really mean is civilian disarmament.

“Everytown for Gun Safety,” he explains, “apparently didn’t think that the name ‘Everytown for Gun Control’ or ‘Everytown for Civilian Disarmament’ was marketable.” To Kirk, the wordplay is deliberate. It allows anti-gun groups to cloak their intentions in the universally positive language of safety.

Mandatory Training and State Monopolies

Kirk also outlines a serious concern: how these programs could be folded into state-mandated licensing schemes. In places like California, Illinois, and soon Washington and Oregon, new gun owners must complete training before they can legally buy or carry a firearm.

Here’s the danger, Kirk argues: legislators get to decide which instructors qualify. In California, NRA-certified trainers have already been pushed out of the system. State-approved instructors, often tied to government programs, are the only ones allowed. Kirk fears that Everytown is positioning itself to become the “approved” training provider in such states.

If that happens, he warns, Americans could be forced to take classes from the very group working hardest to limit their rights. “Translation,” Kirk says, “you will actually be self-funding your own civilian disarmament efforts.”

Jared Yanis: A Trojan Horse in Red Cups

Jared Yanis, host of Guns & Gadgets 2nd Amendment News, issued his own warning in a video. He described the rollout as “ironic at best, dangerous at worst.”

Yanis highlighted the same classes Keane and Kirk discussed: the one-hour “Smart Guide to Buying a Gun,” the two-and-a-half-hour “Smart Guide to Owning a Firearm,” and the eight-hour “Gun Safety & Marksmanship” course. He was especially skeptical of Everytown’s so-called “experts,” some of whom have lobbied to ban modern sporting rifles.

To Yanis, this is a Trojan Horse – a group hostile to gun rights attempting to sneak into the firearms community by pretending to care about training.

The Marksmanship Question

Perhaps the strangest part of the rollout is Everytown’s promise to teach marksmanship. As Keane pointed out, the group has “yet to shoot straight on anything they say.” Yanis raised the same question: what gun range would even host them?

Both men doubt that reputable instructors or ranges would partner with Everytown, though Yanis admitted someone might be tempted by money. His stance was firm: any range or instructor who does would deserve to be “excommunicado” from the firearms community.

What Safety Already Looks Like

Keane and Yanis both stressed a key point: America already has a strong network of safety resources. Local ranges and firearm retailers offer hands-on training, storage advice, and legal guidance to millions of new gun owners. Groups like NSSF have distributed millions of locks and safety kits without ever lobbying for mandatory laws.

This raises the obvious question: if genuine safety training already exists – widely, voluntarily, and effectively – why is Everytown trying to reinvent the wheel?

The True Goal Behind “Train Smart”

The answer, as Kirk suggests, is strategy. By branding themselves as safety providers, Everytown gains credibility with lawmakers. Once they are recognized as a “training authority,” they can insert themselves into legislation that requires training. That means they don’t just push for restrictions from the outside – they become the gatekeepers on the inside.

If states mandate that only “Train Smart” certifications count, then new gun owners will be forced into anti-gun classrooms before they can even touch a firearm. Worse, they’ll have to pay fees to the very group lobbying against their rights.

This isn’t safety. It’s a carefully engineered form of barrier-to-entry gun control.

The Safety Mirage

The irony of the situation is hard to ignore. Everytown has spent years telling Americans that guns make homes less safe, that self-defense is a myth, and that guns should be heavily restricted or banned. Now, suddenly, they want to teach Americans how to buy, own, and shoot responsibly?

It’s like a group of prohibitionists offering wine-tasting classes. The contradiction is so glaring that many in the gun community see the move as laughable on the surface, but dangerous underneath.

What This Means for Gun Owners

For ordinary gun owners, the key takeaway is vigilance. As Kirk advised, “bookmark this video” and watch how training requirements evolve in the coming years. If states begin to recognize Everytown as a legitimate training provider, while disqualifying NRA or NSSF instructors, it will signal a shift from voluntary safety to state-controlled indoctrination.

For Yanis, the message is even simpler: “Don’t fall for it.” Stay loyal to local, trusted instructors. Support organizations with a proven track record of safety and respect for rights.

Politicizing Training

In my view, the biggest danger of “Train Smart” isn’t that it will actually make gun owners less safe – it’s that it will politicize training itself. Instead of being a practical, nonpartisan skill every responsible owner pursues, training could become another front in the culture war.

When safety becomes a tool for disarmament, it loses its integrity. Americans don’t need politically motivated lectures. They need real, hands-on instruction from people who believe in both safety and freedom.

Safety or Strategy?

Larry Keane saw a circus. William Kirk saw a legislative Trojan Horse. Jared Yanis saw a dangerous infiltration. Different words, same warning: “Train Smart” is not what it seems.

Gun owners across America already have the resources, instructors, and programs they need to stay safe. What Everytown offers isn’t training – it’s control wrapped in the language of responsibility. And if lawmakers fall for it, Americans could soon be required to buy that control before they can buy their first firearm.

The hidden agenda behind the new “gun safety” training isn’t safety at all. It’s strategy.