Gun control disarms regular people, which makes them easier targets for regular criminals to victimize, and it does pretty much zilch against dedicated mass killers.
What can we say to the “I’d be more comfortable if you gun people were forced to have more mandatory training” crowd? This is a subject that has caused some division among gun rights advocates over the years, but I’m firmly against any sort of legally mandated training for private citizens before they can exercise their rights.
To clarify, I’m a huge fan of training. I think gun school is great. I’ve taken many classes over the years, and I still try to take at least one or two classes annually to continue my education and not become stagnant. I think if you’re going to own a gun or carry a gun, it behooves you to seek out quality instructors and keep learning.
But mandatory training, required by the state, before you are allowed to defend yourself? Absolutely not. This Do-Something! mentality is usually accompanied by a tortured analogy equating gun ownership to getting a driver’s license. Except mandatory training is a placebo at best.
The Absolute Minimum
There have been different kinds of mandatory training required to get a concealed carry permit. When I got started, some states required attending a classroom lecture, others required classroom time and an actual shooting test. The length of the classes and the difficulty of the test varied greatly state to state. And there was one state (Vermont) that required no training or license at all, so anybody who wasn’t a prohibited person could just carry a gun.
When I first started teaching CCW I did a full-on basic live-fire handgun class in addition to the lecture portion required by the state. What I quickly discovered was the people who were going to be smart were smart. People who were going to be stupid were on their best behavior while I watched them, then immediately went back to being stupid when they were on their own. People who want to get trained pay attention. People who are there because it’s required do the absolute minimum and then forget it as soon as they reach the parking lot. Sort of like every other kind of mandatory training for every other single field ever, in all of recorded human history. So no big surprise there.
Shooting is a skill that can be taught. Those who want to learn are going to learn. Those with giant egos assume that what they already know is good enough, and you can’t teach them anything anyway. Plus, shooting is only one part of the equation, and not the most important part either. Don’t get me wrong, being able to hit your target is important, but it pales in comparison to the importance of making good decisions. I can teach a monkey to hit a piece of paper. Teaching someone to react intelligently under stress is a whole lot harder.
Even mandatory training often has giant gaping holes in what it covers, and one-size-fits-all training rarely helps with an individual’s specific needs. Mandatory minimum standards get you a lot of mandatory minimum instructors producing mandatory minimum shooters. This isn’t just for gun stuff, but you’ve all seen it in whatever it is you do for a living. What boxes are we required to check? Let’s hurry and check them.