For discussion purposes only, from http://www.herald.com/content/today/docs/022678.htm
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
Published Sunday, November 5, 2000, in the Miami Herald
Firearms watchdog group says state laws miss target
DAVID GREEN
dgreen@herald.com
When Kevin Troutman returned to his posh Miramar apartment one night last month and found a gunman waiting in the hallway, he exercised one of his legal rights.
He whipped out a Glock .40-caliber pistol. The pair opened fire on each other, blasting off a total of 17 errant shots before the gunman sprinted away.
Like a quarter-million Florida residents, Troutman is licensed by the state to pack a gun. The shootout he was involved in underscores the volatile balance between personal and public safety that concealed weapons permits can create.
Nowhere is that balance more tense than in Florida. The state has one of the easier weapons training requirements in the country: No matter how little firearms experience they have, applicants can fire a single bullet on a shooting range to qualify for their permit.
Florida was given a D-plus on its concealed weapons laws by one gun-control watchdog group, the Washington-based Center to Prevent Handgun Violence. One of the main reasons for its low grade: ''Minimal safety training.''
''It's hard enough for cops to go through a shootout,'' says Nancy Hwa, spokeswoman for the center, ''let alone citizens ...''
To qualify for a concealed weapons permit in Florida -- one of 43 states that issue them -- applicants must provide fingerprints and a current photo. They must also send in proof they completed a certified firearms safety class.
Assuming a criminal background check does not turn up a felony or domestic battery conviction, and they have not done a stint in a mental hospital or have any other disqualifiers on their record, they will receive their license in 90 days.
Roughly 15,000 Miami-Dade County residents and 11,000 in Broward held valid permits as of June, according to the Florida Department of State's Division of Licensing. That is more than the statewide totals for Iowa and West Virginia.
One of the most alarming aspects about this prevalence of concealed weapons holders in Florida, some critics say, is the training ''class.'' It is often a single session -- not nearly enough time to hone a novice's skills.
Example: A class offered by International Protective Services, a Hollywood security consulting company, is two hours long.
The first hour consists of classroom instruction. One of the company's instructors -- most of whom have decades of experience as police officers -- lectures applicants on the legality of drawing and using their gun.
They are briefed on a gun-safety checklist. Then, after some more pointers, it's on to the firing range. Each student is handed a pistol in turn and supervised while they shoot a single bullet at a man-shape target from a distance of 15 yards.
Then, class is dismissed. Their permit applications are ready to send in to the state.
''A few hours of training is just not enough,'' acknowledges Walter Philbrick, a retired SWAT officer who is the owner of IPS and its primary weapons instructor.
There are no exact numbers on how many concealed weapons holders are involved in accidental shootings -- or, on the other hand, successfully defend themselves with guns.
The closest relevant statistic: Out of 34,040 fatal shootings in 1996 across the nation, 212 were justifiable homicides by private citizens with guns, according to the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence.
Gary Kleck, a professor of criminal justice and criminology at Florida State University who conducted a national survey on gun ownership and concealed weapons permits and the impact of gun laws on violent crime, says firearms training for permit applicants is ''largely irrelevant.''
His reasons: Those who apply for them tend to have lifelong experience with guns -- and therefore do not particularly need training. And the critical component in gun safety, Kleck argues, is the gun owner's personality.
''You can teach people about technique -- 'here's how to load it and unload it' -- but you can't necessarily alter their personality so they can make use of that knowledge,'' Kleck says.
The number of Floridians who receive concealed weapons permits annually has mainly increased over the 12 years since the Legislature made permitting legal. In 1988, there were roughly 33,000 issued annually; by 1999, that number had jumped to 78,000 a year. The permit application fee is just over $100 with a $65 renewal fee every five years. The safety class varies in cost.
That rise comes at a time when violent crime has dropped steadily across the state -- indicating that at least some permit holders pack a gun merely for reassurance.
''It's mostly a protective type thing,'' says Florida Sen. Walter ''Skip'' Campbell, who has held a concealed weapons permit for more than five years since an associate received a death threat. ''I've never had to draw the weapon, and hopefully I never will.''
[/quote]
I particularly liked the second-to-last paragraph. What a wonderfully inventive comment!
pax
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"Is there anything wrong with a woman preferring the dignity of an armed citizen? I don't like to be coddled and I don't like to be treated like a minor child. So I waive immunity and claim my right -- I go armed." -- Longcourt Phyllis in Beyond This Horizon by Robert Heinlein
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
Published Sunday, November 5, 2000, in the Miami Herald
Firearms watchdog group says state laws miss target
DAVID GREEN
dgreen@herald.com
When Kevin Troutman returned to his posh Miramar apartment one night last month and found a gunman waiting in the hallway, he exercised one of his legal rights.
He whipped out a Glock .40-caliber pistol. The pair opened fire on each other, blasting off a total of 17 errant shots before the gunman sprinted away.
Like a quarter-million Florida residents, Troutman is licensed by the state to pack a gun. The shootout he was involved in underscores the volatile balance between personal and public safety that concealed weapons permits can create.
Nowhere is that balance more tense than in Florida. The state has one of the easier weapons training requirements in the country: No matter how little firearms experience they have, applicants can fire a single bullet on a shooting range to qualify for their permit.
Florida was given a D-plus on its concealed weapons laws by one gun-control watchdog group, the Washington-based Center to Prevent Handgun Violence. One of the main reasons for its low grade: ''Minimal safety training.''
''It's hard enough for cops to go through a shootout,'' says Nancy Hwa, spokeswoman for the center, ''let alone citizens ...''
To qualify for a concealed weapons permit in Florida -- one of 43 states that issue them -- applicants must provide fingerprints and a current photo. They must also send in proof they completed a certified firearms safety class.
Assuming a criminal background check does not turn up a felony or domestic battery conviction, and they have not done a stint in a mental hospital or have any other disqualifiers on their record, they will receive their license in 90 days.
Roughly 15,000 Miami-Dade County residents and 11,000 in Broward held valid permits as of June, according to the Florida Department of State's Division of Licensing. That is more than the statewide totals for Iowa and West Virginia.
One of the most alarming aspects about this prevalence of concealed weapons holders in Florida, some critics say, is the training ''class.'' It is often a single session -- not nearly enough time to hone a novice's skills.
Example: A class offered by International Protective Services, a Hollywood security consulting company, is two hours long.
The first hour consists of classroom instruction. One of the company's instructors -- most of whom have decades of experience as police officers -- lectures applicants on the legality of drawing and using their gun.
They are briefed on a gun-safety checklist. Then, after some more pointers, it's on to the firing range. Each student is handed a pistol in turn and supervised while they shoot a single bullet at a man-shape target from a distance of 15 yards.
Then, class is dismissed. Their permit applications are ready to send in to the state.
''A few hours of training is just not enough,'' acknowledges Walter Philbrick, a retired SWAT officer who is the owner of IPS and its primary weapons instructor.
There are no exact numbers on how many concealed weapons holders are involved in accidental shootings -- or, on the other hand, successfully defend themselves with guns.
The closest relevant statistic: Out of 34,040 fatal shootings in 1996 across the nation, 212 were justifiable homicides by private citizens with guns, according to the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence.
Gary Kleck, a professor of criminal justice and criminology at Florida State University who conducted a national survey on gun ownership and concealed weapons permits and the impact of gun laws on violent crime, says firearms training for permit applicants is ''largely irrelevant.''
His reasons: Those who apply for them tend to have lifelong experience with guns -- and therefore do not particularly need training. And the critical component in gun safety, Kleck argues, is the gun owner's personality.
''You can teach people about technique -- 'here's how to load it and unload it' -- but you can't necessarily alter their personality so they can make use of that knowledge,'' Kleck says.
The number of Floridians who receive concealed weapons permits annually has mainly increased over the 12 years since the Legislature made permitting legal. In 1988, there were roughly 33,000 issued annually; by 1999, that number had jumped to 78,000 a year. The permit application fee is just over $100 with a $65 renewal fee every five years. The safety class varies in cost.
That rise comes at a time when violent crime has dropped steadily across the state -- indicating that at least some permit holders pack a gun merely for reassurance.
''It's mostly a protective type thing,'' says Florida Sen. Walter ''Skip'' Campbell, who has held a concealed weapons permit for more than five years since an associate received a death threat. ''I've never had to draw the weapon, and hopefully I never will.''
[/quote]
I particularly liked the second-to-last paragraph. What a wonderfully inventive comment!
pax
------------------
"Is there anything wrong with a woman preferring the dignity of an armed citizen? I don't like to be coddled and I don't like to be treated like a minor child. So I waive immunity and claim my right -- I go armed." -- Longcourt Phyllis in Beyond This Horizon by Robert Heinlein
