[wordsmythe]

Originally Posted by NoLongerInRadioGuy

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.

When approached by the police a permit holder is not required to declare they are such. When asked they have to be honest and confirm they are a permit holder and we were told NOT to reach for it but tell where we are carrying. Then we were told that we would likely be patted down and the police would remove the weapon until everything is sorted out.

As far as when and when not to act the instructor said that's going to be situational. Since you have the right to use your gun to protect another person you can do so but you should be certain of the situation. She also reminded us that the permit does NOT make you a law enforcement officer or a bounty hunter. She went over what can happen to you if you get it wrong and damage property, injure or kill an innocent bystander. She emphasized that we shouldn't start walking our dog on the east side of Topeka at 3 in the morning just because we have a gun.

As far as requalifying... they haven't sorted that out yet. The permit is good for 4 years and there is a fee listed to renew but they have about 3 years to decide how that's all going to work so they aren't there yet.