At a time when many districts are going to great lengths to keep guns out of schools, JROTC has become one of the few programs on campuses that promote weapons training.
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“A lot of the equipment that you see behind me comes from NRA grants,” Bryan Williams, a retired Army major who teaches in the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program at Mariner High School in Cape Coral, told the contestants.That tip of the hat was no casual remark.
For the National Rifle Association, which has faced rising legal and financial troubles along with declining revenues and membership, the promotional promises offered through JROTC programs provide an entree to a new generation of potential members in a uniquely trusted venue — the public school. “Through this grant, we have the opportunity to engage a set of at-risk students to shooting sports,” an instructor in Kentucky wrote in one application. “The NRA is a widely known and recognized entity in our community, and we look forward to furthering that reputation with our display of commitment and excellence,” another one wrote in California.
Elizabeth Vazquez, who was watching her daughter Eryka from the bleachers, said she loved seeing her daughter blossom in the program. Military recruiters stood by throughout the day and pitched students on the benefits of joining the armed forces, a key point of contention for parents and students who have objected when schools make JROTC enrollment mandatory or automatic for some students.
Some students in Nashua, New Hampshire, objected when a JROTC program applied to add a marksmanship program on campus in 2019. Paula Durant, who was then a senior, said she and some of her classmates had argued that the school was supposed to be a gun-free zone and that the air rifles used by the JROTC program looked genuine.
The issue of public schools’ receiving direct funding from the NRA Foundation has at times left districts struggling to navigate the optics.
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