Education

Workbook teaches kids that Second Amendment includes gun control

Robby Soave Reporter
Font Size:

A social studies workbook, used in an Illinois public middle school, is generating controversy among gun rights supporters because it claims that the Second Amendment permits only strictly regulated, registered gun ownership.

A screenshot of the workbook was first posted to the Facebook page for Illinois Gun Owners Rights. It provides the following description of the Second Amendment:

This amendment states that people have the right to certain weapons, providing that they register them and have not been in prison. The founding fathers included the amendment to prevent the United States from acting like the British who had tried to take weapons away from the colonists.

The actual text of the Second Amendment makes no mention of gun registration:

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

According to the Facebook page, parent Rich Kinison first posted the image. His child attends school at Grant Middle School in Springfield, Illinois.

He reported the workbook to the head of the history department at the school, who explained that the description was written by teachers at the school some years ago. It predated Common Core, and would be re-evaluated given the concerns about its accuracy.

“I was informed that this would be brought up to the proper people at the school and they would try to get it changed,” said Kinison in a statement.

Follow Robby on Twitter