Tag Archives: Training

Mandatory Training?

The Knox Update

From the Firearms Coalition

The Myth of Mandatory Training

 (March 12, 2009) Rights activists are shooting themselves in the foot whenever they advocate for mandatory training for concealed carry, and they’re shooting themselves in the foot a lot lately.  There is absolutely no question that all gunowners, especially those who choose to carry in public, need to take their responsibilities seriously and seeking out quality training is just the beginning of the responsibility. 

But legislating training is a seriously bad idea. 

If it is reasonable and prudent to mandate training for concealed carry, why would it not be reasonable and prudent to mandate training for open carry?  If that is reasonable, what about mandating training for anyone wishing to even own a firearm, and mandatory training for anyone who lives in a home with a firearm?  If mandatory training makes sense, then what is the argument against mandatory storage requirements?  The bottom line is that firearm safety is a matter of personal responsibility and that responsibility can not and should not be legislated by government.  Personal responsibility is, by definition, personal.

The idea of mandatory training stems from the huge and disturbing assumption that the people have no common sense of their own and must be led to sensible behavior by the government.

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