Colorado CCW Training Warning

[Bongo Boy]

Seriously, who here thinks spending a couple of hundred bucks for quality training is too expensive? Hunter's Safety Card? Come on... We are talking about carrying a loaded pistol, shooting and killing someone situations.

I know I'm going to be in the minority here, but I'm going to get this side of the issue out anyway. There should be NO CCW approved unless the individual has had sufficient training and passed a basic live fire standard. You have to take a written and driving test for a car for god's sake to show understanding and competence. Unfortunately, the law isn't written like that.

IMO, the standard should somewhere along the lines of the NRA Basics of Personal Protection Outside the Home course. You can't pass the written and shooting tests, guess you better practice and study some more. My 14 year old step daughter can pass the course, then again she actually shoots competitions pretty regular. So, she get the practice and instruction needed.

The law doesn't mandate that level of training, but does that mean you should short stroke the training to save a few bucks? I hope you don't. You might be shooting around someone I care about.

I also agree...it's just dumb, and it shortchanges folks by giving them a dangerously false sense of security. Not to mention they're a danger to themselves and everyone around them. You don't learn how to avoid accidents, hit your target (and nothing else) by chatting about it in a classroom; however, I'd prefer the requirement be evidence of demonstrated safety and basic proficiency rather than proof of training, if the training is worthless. It's comical that there's far more rigor around getting a ham radio license.

Makes you wonder how many CCW people carry a weapon yet can't get the gun out of the holster (and recover to the holster) without an accidental discharge, or how many could clear a jam at all, let alone in a hurry. Not to mention the number of folks who have no idea what sort of targets they can actually hit vs just 'shoot at'. Such training, with no portion devoted to the weapon itself, is a disservice to the public.

It's a little goofy to conclude training doesn't do any good because there's so much 'evidence' that the highly trained screw up more than the untrained or that, in spite of training, folks still get hurt. I believe that if drivers in Colorado knew what a two-lane turn is, what a solid white line means, or that you can't merge onto the freeway by stopping...life would surely be better. Again, I'm not convinced it's the government's job to require training--but I'm okay with a requirement to pass a written and a practical, and I'll risk the chance of a government conspiracy designed to ensure no one passes the tests.