| I can understand why a citizen would want to carry concealed in certain situations. As long as the training is there, and is proven to be effective, I say go for it. A couple questions I have though, since I have not taken the class, nor do I need to...
Did they touch on the topic of when you approached by law enforcement? Like, if you are pulled over and have a gun concealed (or even un-concealed for that matter), to tell the officer right away about it and not make any moves to get it unless instructed? You might have taken the class and have your license with you showing you are allowed to carry, but be prepared for an officer to be a little on edge when you mention a gun to them.
What about when and when not to act? Like on a situational basis? Officers go through a lot more than a saturday's worth of training on shooting and gun care. We are also trained that people make much better witnesses than victims. There are many stories of officers or security guards or people allowed to carry concealed that think they become Harry BadA** when they have a glock in their pocket. Seeing a possible armed robbery in progress is not a reason to pull out a gun and try to intervene. All that is going to do escalate the situation. When law enforcement is called to something like this, you wont see one lone cop go running in with his gun drawn - we have plans in place on how to handle situations.
Finally - is there any kind of requalification? Or is it a life long permit to carry a gun? I would think I would want people to prove their proficiency with any gun they might carry. That is how we do it. We cant carry any weapon on or off duty unless we have passed the range training first to show we can shoot it accurately. I would hate to see someone who knows nothing about guns qualify for their license on a lil .22 then later buy a .45 and think they shoot the same.  |