A few weeks ago, we joked that Everytown for Gun Safety’s new “training course” would probably start by discouraging gun ownership. Turns out, we weren’t joking enough.
The 1.5-hour, $20 online class—called “The Smart Guide to Buying a Gun”—is being sold as firearms training. But according to Lee Williams, a seasoned journalist known as “The Gun Writer”, the course “is definitely not firearms training. It’s not even close.”
Anonymous Instructors and Amateur Hour
Williams notes that the so-called instructors only use first names, never disclose credentials, and provide zero proof of professional training. Any NRA-certified instructor—or anyone who’s taken a legitimate firearms class—knows that transparency and credibility are everything. You wouldn’t take a self-defense course from “Steve,” or send your kid to “Bob’s” anonymous driving school. Yet that’s exactly what Everytown offers.
To make matters worse, before the course even starts, it hits you with a liability warning urging participants to “consult a qualified professional” if they want real expertise. In other words, the instructors admit up front they’re not qualified professionals.
Bad Data and Bloomberg Talking Points
The course is packed with the same recycled anti-gun talking points we’ve seen for years—fictionalized “statistics” and Bloomberg-funded pseudo-science. One example: the claim that “guns are the leading cause of death for children ages 1–17,” which even The Washington Post has debunked. Another: that an abuser with a gun is “1,000% more likely” to kill a woman—sourced from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, funded by the same billionaire bankrolling Everytown.
“Keep It Unloaded—And Get a Dog”
Williams also found that the course tells new gun owners to keep firearms unloaded at all times, suggests racism affects how police treat armed citizens, and downplays home-security measures like alarms or cameras. Instead, it recommends adopting a dog as a better defense against intruders. (Because apparently your cockapoo is a more reliable deterrent than a 9mm.)
And when it comes to firearm recommendations, the course never even mentions the AR-15—the most popular rifle platform in America. A “Smart Guide” that ignores millions of responsible owners? Not so smart.
Bloomberg’s Playbook, Reloaded
It’s no secret that Everytown is Michael Bloomberg’s pet project. The organization was never built to promote gun safety—it exists to make lawful ownership harder and less appealing. Their “training” course isn’t education; it’s soft-sell propaganda dressed up as instruction.
Even many of Everytown’s own supporters have complained that the group shouldn’t be “training” anyone to own guns at all. Which tells you everything about their true mission.
The Real Lesson
Everytown’s own disclaimer says it best: “If you require specific advice or expertise about your use, possession, or ownership of a firearm, consult a qualified professional.”
We agree. Skip the $20 lecture from Bloomberg’s PR team and head to a real class taught by certified instructors at firearmtraining.nra.org.
Because real gun safety starts with freedom, training, and responsibility—not fear and misinformation.
