First off, the content was more opinion based than fact based which resulted in issues two and three.
Issue Two: When a student asked something about accidentally showing a concealed firearm, the instructor supplied the following answer: "Your gun must be concealed at all times, this is a concealed weapons permit" Well, that was about as incorrect as it gets. Here in Iowa, you can open carry without a permit outside of incorporated limits and if you have a PERMIT TO CARRY WEAPONS, you may open carry as IA Code states the following:
724.4 Carrying weapons.
1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person who goes armed with a dangerous weapon concealed on or about the person, or who, within the limits of any city, goes armed with a pistol or revolver, or any loaded firearm of any kind, whether concealed or not, or who knowingly carries or transports in a vehicle a pistol or revolver, commits an aggravated misdemeanor.
i. A person who has in the person's possession and who displays to a peace officer on demand a valid permit to carry weapons which has been issued to the person, and whose conduct is within the limits of that permit. A person shall not be convicted of a violation of this section if the person produces at the person's trial a permit to carry weapons which was valid at the time of the alleged offense and which would have brought the person's conduct within this exception if the permit had been produced at the time of the alleged offense.
Now I'm no champion of Open Carry rights, I'm all for it if that's your thing, but it just chaps my rear to hear this "instructor" spout off that the Permit to Carry Weapons is a "Concealed Carry Permit" when it is most certainly not, nor is there any section of code prohibiting the open carrying of firearms with a permit.
At least he didn't try to claim that it was brandishing.
The third issue with the class was that someone brought up reciprocity, Iowa has NO current reciprocity arrangements with other states, however the instructor just gave a default answer of "No states recognize an IA permit" which is is another blatant falsehood. There are several (more like fifteen) states that recognize ANY state's permit regardless of reciprocity arrangements or lack thereof. Indiana and Michigan are such states, for a complete listing you can visit HandgunLaw.US and search for the desired info.
I called the instructor out on both points, and it wasn't taken overly well, I must say that I was proud of myself for being tactful in telling him that he's full of it and made it sound entirely different. He did come back in after a break and tried to side step the open carry issue by citing that there was some old law once upon a time that required such and such blah blah blah but I think he was just trying to cover his arse. Regardless, I think I'm going to set up an appointment to speak to the Sheriff and voice my concerns over the blatant LIES regarding IA law being taught by his personnel.
I'm not even going to go into the written test or the range portion other than to say that all I had to do was fire 20 rounds total of .22 and score a 60 or better with 10shots on an NRA B3 target (which I did) but the guy next to me couldn't figure out how to lock the slide back on his XD-40 Service without aide...this guy will be legally armed in about a month provided he was able to get a passing score on the shooting portion.
If one thing is certain, I truly hope that the NRA and IowaCarry get some revised legislation passed this year, this garbage needs to end.
Now on to the fight with my Sheriff regarding the issuance of a "non-restricted" permit.
Why is it that many LEO's think they automatically have a better understanding of guns and gun laws than John Q. Public? I also suspect than many of these falsehoods are being taught or passed on purposefully. Cant let the public know the truth and scare the sheep by anyone open carrying ya know!
ReplyDeleteI don't know. It seems to be a constant battle for me here in Iowa. My local Sheriff is almost incompetent regarding firearms and firearms laws and anti-shall issue, anti carry, anti self defense. The Sheriff who I need to talk to regarding the class is much more level headed and more knowledgeable in these areas.
ReplyDeleteThe instructor in question is a long term reserve deputy, I tend to think that for the most part that the department(s) are just flat out unaware that open carry is even a possibility. With IA being may issue even if one is open carrying legally, if an issue arises, the Sheriff can revoke one's permit without any real reason. I think we'll probably see more open carry once the state goes shall issue, but on the same token, I think a lot of people feel that if you have the permit, you might as well conceal it anyway.
I guess time will tell.