No. 32: Watch Me Pull a Rabbit Out of My Hat

Like mine, most criminal background investigations won’t generate the kind of red flags worthy of denial. As long as a permit to carry applicant meets the legal minimum requirements for Minnesota, the only thing really standing in the way is a gun safety class.

In 2014 MinnPost journalist Mike Cronin published an article describing his gun safety instructor, Minnesota Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance Director, Andy Rothmann.  The article’s opening sentencewas sobering. 

“The second time I ever shot a gun, I passed a safety class that qualified me to legally carry a pistol in Minnesota.”

After seeing what passes for minimum required gun safety training, Cronin’s observation does not fill me with confidence.  Law makers who passed the PPA statute apparently took collective leave of their senses.  What else explains why the State would delegate instructor certification to business owners who profit most when State oversight is weakest?

That’s not hyperbole.  In fact, instructor certification is not the State’s responsibility.  The DPS sets forth minimum requirements but actual certification rests with an expanding catalogueof for-profit business operators who crank out training certificates to instructors and other carry customers.  It has become a breeding ground for malfeasance and a ready network for political extremism.

Beware of This Red Flag, Minnesota

On a bright October morning I drove to the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Eden Prairie.  My permit safety training began there.  It cost $89.  The pistol range collected another $12.50. Gun rental and ammo was an extra $10. Total for the day: $111.50.

Before 2003 there were just a handful of individuals throughout Minnesota charging North of $250 for this kind of training.  Today there are over 410.  Some advertise training as low as $49 through Groupon. 

From one instructor to the next, training is routinely divided between class and range time.  However, there can be significant differences in price, substance and tone.  Customer failure is at the discretion of each instructor.  There is no State requirement to objectively rank class or range performance.

That morning I lined up at the end of a badly lit hallway.  Inside the room were four women - one black, three white - and eleven men - 1 black, 2 Asian, 1 Latino and 7 white.  Ages ranged from eighteen to mid-sixties.  Most were from Hennepin County. 

Two of the white customers sat up front wearing matching American Taekwondo ball caps and warm up jackets.  Full on McDojo.  The two black customers, both with extensive calligraphy tattoos on their neck, forearms and hands, sat in back. I signed in and took a seat in the middle.

Our instructor, Joe, collected fees and finished paperwork. He locked away somewhere between $1300 – $1800 inside a keyless gun safe and kicked off the 4-hour training; $325 to $450 per hour before expenses. Not bad.

Right away, Joe appeared likable.  He spoke briefly about his 17 years in law enforcement, twelve as a licensed peace officer in small town Minnesota.  He was certified by the National Rifle Association in Basic Home Defense and as an Affiliate Instructor through United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA).

In less than three hours he condensed some fairly heavy subjects into seven short segments - about twenty-one minutes apiece.  This included handgun basics, shooting fundamentals, legal use of force and Minnesota carry law.

Joe relied on professional USCCA training videos to supplement most of the instruction.   He demonstrated firearm mishaps playing a YouTube compilation I’d already watched on line.  Most depicted twig-like women flying backward after firing shotguns. More than a few felt staged. It went on too long.

Two depicted men unintentionally shooting themselves.  One featured a black DEA agent who discharged his pistol into his foot while discussing firearm safety inside a Florida elementary school. Remarkably bad timing. Terrified children could be heard off camera.

Inside our class of adults this produced laughter and energetic head shaking. 

A couple people taking the class never fired a gun before so this struck me as a poor choice. These viral moments better fit someone’s idea of entertainment than serious examples of irresponsible gun handling.  

For a safety class, Joe placed an awful lot of emphasis on quick-draw proficiency.  He demonstrated several times how fast he could pull his Glock from his holster and chamber a round.

The one comment he made that stood out left me cold. “Bans guns on premises signs don’t carry the force of law" he told us. "You can always say that you didn’t see it.”  In doing so, he revealed a personal bias toward the spirit and letter of that state statute that gives proprietors a chance to opt out.

Apparantly honoring a posted legal notice that bans guns, no less legal than signs enforcing highway speed limits, didn’t enter into his equation for responsible or law abiding conduct while carrying.  The take away was that this former cop and certified instructor felt perfectly comfortable advising fellow Minnesotans to break the law if they felt they could get away with it.

Maybe that explains why he is a former cop.

But Joe certainly isn't alone.  He expressed an opinion popular among Minnesota’s "law-biding" carry community.  It just made the class more closely resemble indoctrination than genuine safety training   Don’t take my word for it.  Read what’s writtenon Facebook sites dedicated to the carry movement.  They're above the law now.

His business card reinforced this assessment. “Keep this inside your wallet at all times” he told us.  On the back was a printed list of “legal phrases to memorize” for that moment we shoot someone and the police arrive.

“I feared for my life and I defended myself.”

“I do not consent to a search of my person or property.”

“I invoke my right to remain silent until I speak to my lawyer.”

Below that was an advertisement that read, “If you need a personal defense lawyer contact Marc Berris 612-332-3100.”

Joe also said, “Hey, I don’t get a thing for saying this but…”  Then he provided contact information for an insurance agent who specialized in policies for people with carry permits.