Concealed Weapon's Course

This weekend I drove back home in order to take a class that will allow me to obtain my concealed weapons permit once I turn twenty-one. For a state to allow you to receive this honor, you must first check to see what requirements are needed to begin the application. In South Carolina, you must first take a course that will last at least 8 hours. During this course you are taught everything that you need to know to be able to carry a concealed weapon. After the lesson, you are to take a state required test and must make at least eighty percent on it. Once all of this is done you are required to shoot a series of different shots in order to prove that you are responsible enough and safe enough to be trusted with a firearm. Once you have passed both tests you are finger printed and required to send off personal information to the state to apply for the permit and have a background check done. If everything goes well you will be granted the permit.

As I was driving back I was worried that I may not be able to pass the required tests. I took the course with my dad, mom, and multiple other family friends. After seeing how nervous everyone else was, I could tell I was not alone. As the course began I was learning new information in almost every sentence from the instructors. I think of myself as a very avid shooter and had no idea that I would learn as much information as I did. This course not only taught me new gun safety practices but also ways to protect myself. Even if I was not going to carry a concealed weapon, I would suggest this course to others in order to make them more aware. The most outstanding statistic that I learned is that in today's society, there is now a growing concern of needing concealed weapons in a Church or other place of worship. We were informed of multiple instances where a Church was attacked by armed men who could have been stopped if a member had been armed. Law says that one may not carry a concealed weapon in a Church unless there is written consent from the head of the church.

I highly believe in carrying concealed weapons as long as it is treated properly and only used as a last resort. As stated by my instructor, criminals are already in the wrong and therefore do not care about an extra charge for carrying a gun, so why disarm safe, innocent, law abiding citizens?