Anyone who has followed my writings will remember that I spend a lot of time talking about training. Well, I’m a trainer, so, that would stand to reason. Just so you won’t be disappointed, I’ll talk about training this time too.

Constitutional Carry has hit the nation in a big way, much to the chagrin of the anti-gun crowd. Just what does Constitutional Carry mean? In its simplest form, it means that any adult who is not otherwise prohibited from carrying a concealed handgun can do so without a state-issued permit. That means if you want to carry, you can. The only restrictions would be that you cannot carry in places that prohibit you from doing so; such as in court houses, in public K-12 schools, in federal facilities and military bases, and those private properties that have been so posted.

Is Constitutional Carry a good idea? Overall, I believe it is, even though in my home state of Colorado, I would lose a lot of business teaching the Basic Pistol course because Constitutional Carry would eliminate the requirement. But is that necessarily bad? I don’t think it is. I should point out here that my home-state of Colorado is not a Constitutional Carry state.

So, where does the training come in? When a person who has not been trained decides to start carrying, do they know the fundamentals of shooting? I know that sounds kind of, well, fundamental. YouTube is replete with videos of novice shooters doing funny as well as just down-right dangerous (read, stupid) stuff with guns. This can make for a very dangerous situation. Does the new, untrained carrier know when to place their finger on the trigger; how to line up the sights; or get a grip (in more ways than one)? That’s just covering the fundamentals.

On a more serious note, do these novice carriers understand the basics of buying the appropriate handgun for them? How about how to pick out the right holster, or how to draw from that holster without shooting themselves in the leg, foot, or hand? Experimentation is often fun, but when not done incorrectly, it can be very dangerous, to the person with the gun as well as those around them.

Now, let’s get really serious. Does that new carrier know when to carry and when not to carry? Does he know how to plan his wardrobe around his Every Day Carry (EDC), or does the new lady carrier understand how to carry her purse and how to carry her EDC in her purse and how to effectively get it out of her purse when needed. For that matter, does she know what kind of purse she should use? Not all purses are created equal.

Do these new carriers know when they can legally use their EDC in defense of their own lives and the lives of their loved ones; how about protecting the lives of third parties who are unknow to the new carrier.

Carrying a concealed handgun is not a trivial matter and should not be taken lightly. When you decide to take up the lifestyle of a concealed carrier, you need to make a lot of serious decisions and training is among the most important. If you have not been adequately trained and PRACTICED that training you are setting yourself up for a lot of problems down the road. Training to use a gun to protect yourself and your loved ones is a sober decision. It requires you to put your head in a different place. This is one of those areas of life where we hope and pray that we never have to put that training into practice. However, I would much rather have the ability to protect my loved ones than have to wait 15 to 20 minutes for the police to arrive and possibly (probably) collect forensic evidence. Remember, we are our own First Responders.

OK, drum roll, please; here comes the commercial. If you or your friends (you are going to share this, aren’t you?) find yourself deficient in any of the areas mentioned above, contact Falcon Personal Security.