Kids as young as five will be taking a gun safety class this year in Republican-run Tennessee, the first US state to pass such a law.

A bill mandating these courses was passed in 2024 by the state legislature and the law takes effect in public schools with the start of the new academic year as the summer ends.

The state education department has put out guidelines stating that pupils from age five to eight should, for instance, be able to tell a fake gun from a real one.

They also need to learn to "demonstrate a responsible attitude regarding firearms" and identify the various parts of a gun such as the trigger, barrel or muzzle, according to these guidelines.

The course will be mandatory each year for students through the end of high school.

Advocates of the course call it a way to respond to school shootings, which are tragically common in the United States where there are more guns than people.

Tennessee is the first state to pass a law mandating gun safety classes for children, but Utah and Arkansas have since done so.

The Tennessee guidelines do not spell out specifics on how educators should teach this material or state how long the gun safety course should last.

They do say teachers should not use "live ammunition, live fire, or live firearms" and should be "viewpoint neutral on political topics."

School authorities can bring in police or public health experts to help give this class.

Guns are the main cause of death among children and adolescents in the United States, US public health officials say.

Just last week a heavily armed attacker killed two children and wounded 14 others in a Catholic church attached to a school in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Three adults were also wounded.

The United States has the highest gun violence fatality rate of any developed country. (AFP)