Baba Louie and others:
No need to wait "until the state puts out actual guidelines" on courses before you take one. The requirements are written in the law. If your sheriff won't take a course certificate issued by an instructor in a different county, he will be sued and compelled to do so. That said, take it easy on these guys. They're scrambling to be ready Oct. 14 since they didn't bother to listen to us on May 5 when we told them it wouldn't matter if Holden vetoed the law as we had enough votes to override. (If Holden hadn't vetoed, they'd be even worse off. He vetoed two DAYS before the law would have taken effect. Sheriffs had made NO prep.
A meeting with the Sheriff's Association Friday 9/19 determined they would have a draft of a standardized certificate by end of business today (Greg Jeffery and I did one in Powerpoint for them and they want it to look a little different.) Expect a final version within 10 days, downloadable from their website.
Regarding the whole being sued thing: Yes I'll testify you took the course and what it entailed. But that's not a big deal. Don't be afraid of your own shadow here. I'll give you the same request I gave the undecided about carry in Missouri: Don't spend all your time dreaming about what could in theory happen. Look at what HAS happened in other states. How often does a licenseholder get sued after shooting a BG? Very very seldom, and almost always because he used deadly force when it wasn't justified, like shooting a guy in the back running off with his TV set. Remember the engineer's creed: "When the results don't conform to the theory, believe the results and come up with a new theory."
All this is discussed IN DEPTH in my course.
The licensing course is to get you in compliance with the MO requirements. It is NOT an advanced course like Thunder Ranch (those are available.) Think driver's ed to meet the State requirement for driving, not the Bondurant or Skip Barber schools for advanced training. The hours required to get a pilot's license are very low compared to the hours that most employers consider indicative of being a skilled, experienced pilot.
That said, I just finished my second Missouri class and got a lot of very positive comments from people with decades of shooting experience. Since I've got to be with you for 8 hours, I figure I might as well give you the best, most interesting class that I can. I have another class Tuesday 9/23 that is full, and one Wed. 9/24 that has openings.
You can make a career of "What if?" Let me pose another What if:
What if you get tagged legally after a shooting and in court the prosecutor says "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, what kind of man would go to a course called the 'Lethal Force Institute?' The defendant was just ITCHING to kill some poor soul, and he even had his legal defense all lined up in advance. Any normal person would have just read the law--it's quite clear--and known when the use of deadly force was justified. This man wanted to use force when it WASN'T justified, to get away with murder. Don't let him do it."
The above scenario is *at least* as likely as the scenario of getting in trouble for using handloads in a shooting (which has never happened up to this point.)
Email me if you need a Missouri course in the St. Louis area soon.
www.john-ross.net
Follow the link.
JR
