Register reporter tries hand at NRA pistol safety course

New Haven Register ^ | February 17, 2012 | Michael Bellmore

[billorites]

MERIDEN — When I pulled into the parking lot of 35 Pleasant Street, it looked like any other suburban office building — the kind of place where podiatrists look at feet and optometrists look at eyes. What removed it from the ordinary was a laminated sign in the lobby directing me to my destination. It depicted the white silhouette of handgun on a red background. Underneath was written “ctpistolclass.com,” with an arrow pointed to the elevator.

On the third floor, Michael Pear, an NRA certified pistol, rifle and shotgun instructor, was preparing to teach the NRA basic pistol safety course in which I had enrolled, the first step toward acquiring a state pistol permit.

“The goal of the class, the stated course goal, is to teach the basic knowledge, skills and attitude necessary for owning and using a pistol safely,” Pear said, “That pretty much says it all, and I believe in that.”

Inside the classroom, diagrams of firearms and cross sections of cartridges lined the walls of the otherwise stark room. A long, white table sat 17 people, including myself.

I don’t know quite who I expected to see sitting at that table, but it most certainly was not the stereotypical bunch of yahoos that the unfairly presumptuous might imagine. Half of the class were men, half were women, some of whom had never fired a gun before. Young adults sat next to senior citizens. Couples had brought their aged relatives.

“I’ve had people as old as their early 80s take the class. So it pretty much runs the gamut. The ethnic diversity is right there with the population. We have the business owner, the dock worker, the factory worker who loads trucks all day for a living, the waitress at the diner,”

[cyn]

Bleah, talk about “people with preconceived notions”, those who immediately launch into a soft target and tear him to shreds.

As so many have said above, this is a POSITIVE experience that HELPS EDUCATE those who truly do not “get” the historic “gun culture” that so many of us were blessed to grow up with, that guns are for protection, hunting, and recreation.

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Michael, if you are reading this, I appreciate you and your story. **Good for you** to not only be willing to step into what was unfamiliar territory, but further to record your experience for the whole world to comment on... in many cases, unfairly. I hope you continue with your education to more fully understand our 2nd amendment concerns.

You may well find that when you are responsible for protecting a family with little ones, everything changes. I hope you will write again then.

[Red in Blue PA]

Could not agree more. It seemed like a fairly written article.

[Ditto]

You may well find that when you are responsible for protecting a family with little ones, everything changes.

Well stated. I think the problem often boils down to those who have never been exposed to the harsh and cruel world this can indeed become, vs. those who have had some exposure to that harshness and cruelty. And in the end, it is about protecting your own life and that of your loved ones.

It's not red necks vs. sophisticates. Is is realists vs. sheltered idealists.