Quote:
Originally Posted by Edward64
I absolutely agree there should be mandatory training to get your license & carry, and refresher training every year or so. I would go as far as requiring practicing at a gun range every quarter.
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The training has to have teeth, and the gun range portion needs be applicable.
I've shared the story before of my experience when I took my CHL class in Texas 6 years ago. I had signed up for it before the Newtown school shooting happened, but this was the first class held after it occurred, and the classroom was packed. During the classroom portion of the class, someone raised their hand and asked the instructor "what is this 2nd Amendment you keep referring to?". When he asked what kind of firearm experience people had, six of the people in the room had never fired a gun before.
When we got to the practical portion of the class, you shoot 20 times from 3 yards away, 20 times from 7 yards away, and 10 times from 15 yards away. People were missing the target from 3 yards away.
No one failed the class. So while there was "training" it was more of the checkbox variety. It really made me worried that this was the level of training accepted, and how many people out there had a CHL that had little more than a cursory knowledge of how to handle a gun.
edit: since I took the class, the state has lowered the requirements even further