In August of 2000, I returned to Idaho after living in Texas for twenty five years. During the time I lived in Texas, I had the opportunity to serve my community as a volunteer patrolman for our police department one or two nights a week and I was among the first Texas Department of Public Safety certified concealed handgun instructors for civilians wishing to carry a concealed handgun.

 

As some of the Jhub’s readers may know, Texas has a reputation for having the most comprehensive Concealed Handgun Instructor Training Program in the nation and those instructors teach the most comprehensive concealed handgun course in the country. The course requires people to qualify with the handgun they plan to carry from three different distances in addition to classroom sessions that must include but are not limited to the laws relating to weapons and deadly force, the five threat levels and the appropriate response to each, non-violent conflict resolution strategies, the relative merits of revolvers and semi-automatic handguns, handgun use, proficiency and safety, and handgun storage that eliminates injury to a child and others.

 

When I returned to Idaho, I decided to apply for the Idaho concealed weapons license also, since  this is where I plan to live. After filling out the application, paying the fee and waiting ninety days for a background check to be completed, my license to carry concealed in Idaho was granted and renewed four years later.

 

I realize that many in Idaho feel that they should not be subjected to a mandatory course in order to exercise what they feel is a Second Amendment right. I think most people are a little nervous about having to get the government’s stamp of approval for every thing they want to do.  However, since returning to Idaho I have spoken to many people who have concealed weapons licenses, who because of their perceived skill with arms and what they perceive as an accurate understanding of the laws relating to self defense, think they are ready to defend their families. Some of them have even told me they don’t understand why a concealed license holder can’t carry on a commercial airliner. Most of these people are laboring under false assumptions and are referred to in law enforcement and by the courts as unconsciously incompetent, which is not a defense from prosecution. We are all allowed to be as unconscious and incompetent as we wish, but we are still held responsible for our actions.

I would like to see an Idaho Concealed Handgun Course developed for two primary reasons. First, unless people who want to carry concealed have attended a quality course, they tend to have misconceptions that can get them into real trouble if they ever have to decide whether or not to shoot. Second, the Idaho Concealed License is not recognized very much outside of Idaho. For that reason many are getting the Utah Concealed Handgun License in order to legally carry concealed outside of Idaho, or if permitted, they keep renewing the license they had from the state they moved to Idaho from.