oneshooter
Member
Very good article. Check out the last paragraph.
Learning to conceal and carry
Reporter takes up offer to attend licensing course
By JANET ELLIOTT
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
BLANCO — For wannabe pistol packers, we were a pretty mellow bunch.
A middle-aged schoolteacher and her husband; the owner of an excavating company; two college buddies; a couple who both served in the Air Force and now work for the state; a retired correctional officer who helped set up the prison museum in Huntsville and his grown son; a 23-year-old volunteer paramedic and his parents.
And me, a newspaper reporter who has covered enough gun-induced mayhem in three decades to have serious concerns about the prominence of the weapons in American life.
Mike Cox, a certified concealed handgun license instructor from Driftwood, had invited me to attend one of his classes after reading my coverage of the increased demand for the licenses.
"You'll be surprised at the emphasis on non-violent conflict resolution," he promised.
So here I was in a room of the Blanco volunteer EMS station, learning about the complex laws that govern how and where concealed handguns can be carried.
We listened to a chilling 911 tape from a woman who was pleading for police to arrive while the man who had been stalking her broke into her home and stabbed her to death.
We talked about the case of Joe Horn, the Pasadena man who shot and killed two burglars as they were leaving a neighbor's house.
Texas has "very generous laws about protecting property," Cox said. But there is "no moral equivalency" between protecting yourself and your family and shooting because someone is running off with your TV, he said.
We learned the rudiments of gun safety and were given a handout on communicating effectively in a conflict situation.
The potential for violence at any time or place was dramatically brought home when we learned of a nearby incident involving a man who had called 911 saying he was going to kill himself.
Authorities found him sitting in his truck with a high-powered rifle and pictures of his family. They talked him into giving up his gun and brought his preacher in to counsel him.
Having the option
After taking a written test, we drove to a nearby ranch and set up targets. We would have to hit the figure of a man's torso with 50 rounds of ammunition fired from distances ranging from three to 15 feet.
My hands gripped the semiautomatic 9mm pistol and trembled as I lined up the sights and waited for the signal to begin firing. The gun kicked, but I aimed again and kept firing.
However, my borrowed weapon soon jammed, and I wondered what would happen if I was really trying to defend myself.
Art and Lisa Railsback, the military veterans, said later that they would like to see the training increased so attendees can be taught more about the weapons.
The Kyle couple don't hunt or shoot guns often. But they want the option to carry concealed weapons on occasion for their personal safety.
Although I don't plan to apply for a license, I'm glad that nearly 300,000 Texans have cared enough to get theirs. The people in the course were not the gun carriers we fear.
I believe that she needs to recieve some attaboys from us!!
Oneshooter
Livin in Texas
Learning to conceal and carry
Reporter takes up offer to attend licensing course
By JANET ELLIOTT
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
BLANCO — For wannabe pistol packers, we were a pretty mellow bunch.
A middle-aged schoolteacher and her husband; the owner of an excavating company; two college buddies; a couple who both served in the Air Force and now work for the state; a retired correctional officer who helped set up the prison museum in Huntsville and his grown son; a 23-year-old volunteer paramedic and his parents.
And me, a newspaper reporter who has covered enough gun-induced mayhem in three decades to have serious concerns about the prominence of the weapons in American life.
Mike Cox, a certified concealed handgun license instructor from Driftwood, had invited me to attend one of his classes after reading my coverage of the increased demand for the licenses.
"You'll be surprised at the emphasis on non-violent conflict resolution," he promised.
So here I was in a room of the Blanco volunteer EMS station, learning about the complex laws that govern how and where concealed handguns can be carried.
We listened to a chilling 911 tape from a woman who was pleading for police to arrive while the man who had been stalking her broke into her home and stabbed her to death.
We talked about the case of Joe Horn, the Pasadena man who shot and killed two burglars as they were leaving a neighbor's house.
Texas has "very generous laws about protecting property," Cox said. But there is "no moral equivalency" between protecting yourself and your family and shooting because someone is running off with your TV, he said.
We learned the rudiments of gun safety and were given a handout on communicating effectively in a conflict situation.
The potential for violence at any time or place was dramatically brought home when we learned of a nearby incident involving a man who had called 911 saying he was going to kill himself.
Authorities found him sitting in his truck with a high-powered rifle and pictures of his family. They talked him into giving up his gun and brought his preacher in to counsel him.
Having the option
After taking a written test, we drove to a nearby ranch and set up targets. We would have to hit the figure of a man's torso with 50 rounds of ammunition fired from distances ranging from three to 15 feet.
My hands gripped the semiautomatic 9mm pistol and trembled as I lined up the sights and waited for the signal to begin firing. The gun kicked, but I aimed again and kept firing.
However, my borrowed weapon soon jammed, and I wondered what would happen if I was really trying to defend myself.
Art and Lisa Railsback, the military veterans, said later that they would like to see the training increased so attendees can be taught more about the weapons.
The Kyle couple don't hunt or shoot guns often. But they want the option to carry concealed weapons on occasion for their personal safety.
Although I don't plan to apply for a license, I'm glad that nearly 300,000 Texans have cared enough to get theirs. The people in the course were not the gun carriers we fear.
I believe that she needs to recieve some attaboys from us!!
Oneshooter
Livin in Texas
