I’m a gunsmith and an avid competitive shooter, and I absolutely think that mandatory training with firearms should be necessary. Right now, it’s mandatory to take a hunter’s safety course before you can obtain a hunting license, which includes firearms safety. In sane states, obtaining a permit to carry a firearm loaded in public (concealed, we won’t get into the idiocy of open carry) requires similar training.

To me, it’s no different than operating a vehicle or any other piece of equipment that has the potential to do great harm to others: You need to have training on how to use it properly and safely, the basics of the law and so on, and ultimately a level of enforced accountability in the event that you fail to follow protocols for safe handling, storage, and usage of said same.