Instructor Primer - Maryland Qualified Handgun License Course

an analogy:

if Amtrack drivers go on strike, a negotiation usually goes in their favor.
if residential trash disposal companies go on strike, who wins?
what happens when a taxi service is suspended due to a walk-out?

my point is this, if you make a living teaching firearm instruction, you are walking on thin ice in this state and i hope you have a back-up plan. if you teach as an adjunct hobby/ occupation, the income is appreciated and certainly used to pay some expenses. as an adjunct, the income isn't sole relief to finances, as a whole. that being said, our second amendment RIGHTS are at stake and i now see the potential destruction of the United States constitution here in maryland

neither of these three examples are a civil right, but if either impact the local leaders, the leaders will do something to accommodate the citizens/ voters.

WE ARE VOTERS TOO.

"Range Evolutions
Range safety briefing
Review of the 3 rules of gun safety
Watch it, Practice it without a firearm, Practice it by dry fire
Fire at least one round of ammunition."

Per MDSP Asst. AG Mark Bowen - no range fire is required ONLY "firing" of gun. I proposed using a snail trap to him/his office. His reply ..."It is my understanding that the regulations proposed by the Maryland State Police, concerning the issuance of handgun qualification licenses, do not specify any particular procedure, or equipment to be used, for satisfying the requirement that at least one round be fired by the individual being trained.

Mark H. Bowen
Assistant Attorney General"

Kinda the way it works in education. Someone in a office somewhere decides what the students have to know, then the teacher has to come up with the way to teach the students what they need to know with out much guidance or example. Maybe the MSP will come up with a standardized test for everyone ..........

Not sure how a teacher/instructor could be held liable for the instruction or student knowledge, especially in Thai case since I haven't seen any test anyone needs to pass. If education, private or public, was held liable for student knowledge we would all be out of business.

TD

ProShooter said:

I wonder how many yahoo instructors are going to do what happened in Florida... i.e. have the student load and fire one .22 round into a bullet trap and call it a day.

That one round crap is for the birds.

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I'm going to assume, you being from Virginia, that you are under the mistaken impression that SB281 was about training or safety?

If most, if not all of us teach this state mandated curriculum, it is ONLY for the sole purpose of assisting individuals in the act of exercising their Second Amendment rights. In fact, some may not even have interest in ever firing a handgun - only keep it ( as in "The right to keep..."), collect it, or store it. All of which are inalienable rights.

Everyone I know intends to conclude each class with a statement that this is only the minimum amount of training currently required by the State in order to purchase, and is not in any way sufficient for any other purpose. Then hand the attendee a list of NRA courses and instructors with a emphatic recommendation that they seek additional training.

If the range facilities decide to limit their access by us (QHI instructors) that will place greater demand on those facilities that do allow access. This increased demand will force them to hold their fees or raise them, thereby increasing the cost of obtaining the HQL for new shooters (the lifeblood of our entire sport and industry).

If we want to make the cost of obtaining the HQL prohibitive, thats easy enough-set the training cost at $300. Problem solved, right? The politicians phones will ring, the governors phone will ring, MSP's phone will ring, and poof they repeal 281, right? Every law abiding gun owner in Maryland is already screaming at the top of their lungs-and yet the politicians barely hear us, I seriously doubt that adding several thousand more voices to our chorus will change that.

Ending this insult to our 2A rights will not occur because there are too few instructors, or too few ranges, or even too high a cost of the HQL. These things only provide fodder for legal wrangling and increased litigation costs. These produce injunctions and amendments-not repeal.

281 must be struck down as unconstitutional akin to the ruling that prohibits licensing an enumerated constitutional right.

Not seizing the opportunity to provide the training makes us complicit in the anti-2A agenda by helping them to limit the number of people attempting to become legal gun owners (shooting sports patrons, range friends, donors and supporters of local, state, national pro 2A political organizations). Is that what we want? Will it help?

We should be trying how to figure out how to provide the training at the lowest possible cost statewide so that we can bury them with new applicants for the HQL. We can only hope that their servers crash everyday that the HQL portal goes online. That is what has caused action to date, they got buried at MSP with apps and transfers. The stores shelves emptied, and the demand went through the roof. MOM, et al. got a black eye nationally because the dead tree/drive by media finally had to report on it. They realized that staying on paper was not going to work, hence new IT portal and new positions at MSP licensing. So now they have given us a new place to focus the avalanche. Albeit at a financial windfall to the state at $50 per. Hmm, if that provides a great deal of income for the state, wouldn't that help the legal eagles and media people to press the case that's it's just about the state generating revenue and not about making families safer in Maryland (by creating more sheep)?

Hey, I understand the 'hold our ground' train of thought, I even agree at a visceral level. Eff' them, they created this mess... but that would require everyone, I mean everyone, to not participate in the HQL process. We've got ours right? We have been smart enough this year to get those things before Oct 1 that we wanted. If the rest of the population are that unaware or busy, or whatever-thats just too bad, call the politicians and change it. For months we have been telling people to call, vote, donate, blah, blah, blah..it has only been marginally effective. I 'feel' all of that.

Not participating is exactly what the anti-2A people want. They don't care how that happens. They will be happy. They will declare victory over the evil gun toting Neanderthals that pollute their precious society and obstruct their goals of a utopian socialist society in Maryland (not to mention their idea of USA-United Socialists' of America). Hell no, the government doesn't know better... It may take a village (government) in the socialist utopia, but it doesn't take a village in the US...
SORRY, that all just came out...

There is no easy answer...but that is exactly why the United States IS the greatest nation in history, we have been able to find the 'right' answer during such times.

I for one am including a voter registration form in every HQL student packet.

I also plan to teach, as part of the law requirement, the history of gun laws, criminal violence facts and figures, and 2A advocacy options.

I bet the governor didn't consider that when he introduced a law forcing people to sit in front of me for four hours.

CypherPunk said:

I for one am including a voter registration form in every HQL student packet. I also plan to teach, as part of the law requirement, the history of gun laws, criminal violence facts and figures, and 2A advocacy options. I bet the governor didn't consider that when he introduced a law forcing people to sit in front of me for four hours.

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Nice touch!

CypherPunk said:

I bet the governor didn't consider that when he introduced a law forcing people to sit in front of me for four hours.

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I seriously doubt MOM cares what you say to people already predisposed to purchasing a firearm. He's too busy laughing at us. You're not going to be changing too many minds if they're already sitting in front of you. Educate? Sure, and I appreciate that. But don't kid yourself into believing you're pulling a fast one on them with a few slides.

Having the state wash their hands on this smells like a trap. Planned or unplanned, they will use it to their advantage.

Admiral Akbar was right.




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bravo! I too, will include a Maryland Shall Issue member application to every student.

CypherPunk said:

I for one am including a voter registration form in every HQL student packet.

I also plan to teach, as part of the law requirement, the history of gun laws, criminal violence facts and figures, and 2A advocacy options.

I bet the governor didn't consider that when he introduced a law forcing people to sit in front of me for four hours.

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jpo183 said:

I for one am dissapointed to see people chomping at the bit for this.....

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Not chomping at the bit...

I really hope that 281 is stopped by injunctive relief and then found to be unconstitutional and overturned.

I've put a little more than 10 hours in the powerpoint, etc for a program that meets the requirements but Im sitting on it not scheduling anything yet. The phone calls have started, thanks to the MSP online QHI list, I have been taking info and telling them that there are legal games afoot that may grant some type of immediate relief and that I will call them back to schedule if those efforts are not immediate, some are ok with that but others want to be prepared no matter those efforts, for the latter I am aware of two other geographically local QHI's that are already publishing scheduled training dates/times/locations and refer them there.

Business foolish-maybe, but at least ethical.

great information this is definitely going to be easier said than done but if this is your passion I hope instructors take advantage of the op to really educate people

Currently the site says, "A list of Qualified Handgun Instructors will be available for download soon" So they've taken down the link that showed the current list.

parbreak said:

Currently the site says, "A list of Qualified Handgun Instructors will be available for download soon" So they've taken down the link that showed the current list.

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Maybe they are updating it. As of this past weekend they had added three more names for a total of 32.

CypherPunk said:

I for one am including a voter registration form in every HQL student packet.

I also plan to teach, as part of the law requirement, the history of gun laws, criminal violence facts and figures, and 2A advocacy options.

I bet the governor didn't consider that when he introduced a law forcing people to sit in front of me for four hours.

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+2 This is an excellent idea

If you're going to do it I would suggest a "free" membership into MSI, SAF, NRA, JFPO (pick one) be included in the cost of the class.

Also, be sure to hit on the rascist history of most gun control laws.

I've been getting calls for two weeks. Waiting to see how it shakes out

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woodstock said:

bravo! I too, will include a Maryland Shall Issue member application to every student.

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Excellent way to make lemonade out of lemons. I suspect, after we all find out if the Courts will exercise some common sense and their authority provide injunctive relief (or not), there may be many non-exempts swarming to you for 4 hour courses. The criminals won't, but they wouldn't have anyway, so perhaps a few 2A, MSI plugs, etc. can't hurt while you have a captive audience seeking their HQL's. I can actually remember taking the "Handgun Safety" course in person when it first came out through the Baltimore County Sheriff's office to get a certificate - before the video was an option - and while many like myself were bored it didn't kill us, and many attending really needed it. I am not saying the requirements aren't an infringement, just saying if we wind up being stuck with them the instructors have the opportunity to really "educate" students on the issues.

Beyond the 4 hour HQL training, what are the IP's/instructors doing to prepare and get the 16 hour Carry Training approved? Or is that likewise in limbo?

Gryphon said:

Excellent way to make lemonade out of lemons. I suspect, after we all find out if the Courts will exercise some common sense and their authority provide injunctive relief (or not), there may be many non-exempts swarming to you for 4 hour courses. The criminals won't, but they wouldn't have anyway, so perhaps a few 2A, MSI plugs, etc. can't hurt while you have a captive audience seeking their HQL's. I can actually remember taking the "Handgun Safety" course in person when it first came out through the Baltimore County Sheriff's office to get a certificate - before the video was an option - and while many like myself were bored it didn't kill us, and many attending really needed it. I am not saying the requirements aren't an infringement, just saying if we wind up being stuck with them the instructors have the opportunity to really "educate" students on the issues.

Beyond the 4 hour HQL training, what are the IP's/instructors doing to prepare and get the 16 hour Carry Training approved? Or is that likewise in limbo?

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MSP has already sent out the 'Wear and Carry" permit requirements. It is basically the same as before only it will take twice as long. In reality it is hard to get all the information in and the range training done in only 8-hours. What I have added is more time on the application itself to help people think and frame how best to write their good and substantial reasons (plural). I have my "wear and carry" class ready to go.

Sounds like you guys will make the most of this 'opportunity'.

I am recently certified as a NRA RSO as well as a Pistol/Rifle/Shotgun Instructor and working on getting my HQL Instructor certification. Does anyone have a PPT slide deck I can get a copy of for the HQL class?

I have ones for Rifle and Pistol and created one for Shotgun, which, once I am done editing I will be happy to share.