Firearms
You must secure permission for your hosted participant to take part in any activity that involves the use of firearms or other weapons. Please refer to the Supplemental Waiver process.
Host parents must ensure that their hosted participant has a Supplemental Activity Waiver on file as well as permission from their hosted participant’s parent(s)/guardian(s)s, in order for the hosted participant to take part in any activity that involves the use of firearms or other weapons. This permission should be obtained by contacting the AFS Support Department at the AFS Office and informing them of your hosted participant’s intention to participate in this activity. CBYX, FLEX, and YES students are NOT permitted to handle firearms, regardless of if they ask for a Supplemental Activity Waiver.
Please note that if you have firearms in your home, it is CRITICAL that you discuss firearm safety with your hosted participant and follow local and state laws for proper firearm storage and safety precautions in your home.
The “Welcome to the USA” handbook informs hosted participants on the realities of firearms in the U.S., specifically that:
- People in the U.S. possess firearms or guns for various reasons, from hunting to personal protection.
- The right to own weapons is granted in the United States Constitution.
- Currently, gun control is a controversial issue.
- A gun or any other weapon is NOT a toy.
- Accidental deaths occur every year when teenagers are looking at or playing with a real gun or other weapon.
- If hosted participants come across a gun in the home of their host family or in the home of a friend, they should NOT touch it.
- Hosted participants should only touch or handle guns for the purpose of hunting or sport, and only with the expressed permission of a host parent and under the direct supervision of a host parent or another responsible adult.