Confessions of a concealed-weapons carrier: Why I support permits

I’m an NRA member and staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, but I disagree with the bill to allow permit-less open and concealed carry of firearms.

I grew up handling guns safely. Later, I participated in at least one safety briefing each of my 33 years in the military. One might think a concealed permit class would be a waste of time for me, but that was definitely not the case.

My concealed carry class was informative, especially on legal considerations. Much of this information is unknown by the average person. Some in my class had never handled a handgun. One of the instructors took them aside and taught them how to handle and fire their weapon safely. Where will inexperienced, permit-less people get this training?

If this bill passes, the untrained and inexperienced will present a potential safety hazard to themselves and others and possibly break laws they know nothing about.

Our concealed-carry permit requirements have worked well and with few problems. I see no intelligent reason to lower the safety bar that better-informed legislators put in place.

This story was originally published April 8, 2017 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Confessions of a concealed-weapons carrier: Why I support permits."