"Get Some Training!"

This has been the pretty universal outcry over the above picture, which has been making the rounds lately on the internet. But reading such comments, this one thought kept popping up in my head…

How do you know she doesn’t have training?

Just because you observe her doing something you regard as stupid doesn’t mean she doesn’t have training…even good training. Maybe seeing her do something stupid simply means that she is behaving stupidly, perhaps in spite of her training. You do understand that simply going through training doesn’t cure dumbassery, right?

That’s not to say that training isn’t valuable, but its value is no greater than the ability and/or willingness of the individual to apply that training in their daily life. There are plenty of examples of people who have most certainly gone through some very thorough, formal firearms training…doing some thoroughly stupid things with guns. Here’s a few examples:

Trained, but stupid.

Trained, but stupid.

Trained, but stupid.

Again, training is great, and you absolutely should get some if you intend to carry a gun. Most people with even a little bit of sense will benefit from professional firearms instruction, and there’s no reason to think that the young woman in the photo wouldn’t. But I think it is just as much of a mistake to assume that a trained person won’t be a dumbass as it is to assume that someone being a dumbass isn’t trained. People with poor judgement, decision-making skills, or who lack maturity and restraint are not going to be magically transformed into responsible gun handlers just because they took a class (or two, or three). Likewise, mature and responsible people who already exercise good judgement and restraint will probably continue such behavior even in the absence of training.

As such, I point you towards a common argument against national concealed carry reciprocity: the fact that concealed carry training standards vary widely from state to state. This typically comes up when we point out that driver’s licenses are valid nationwide; then they simply counter that while concealed carry training requirements vary widely state-to-state, driver’s license training standards are much more consistent. If we assume that’s true, then how do we account for disparities in driving skill and behavior among licensed drivers? We have all seen, heard, and probably told stories about various cities and states which seem to have worse drivers than others, and the auto insurance business tracks such data obsessively. How can such differences exist, if all driver training is consistent in standard and universally mandated?

Of course, we all know the answer. Training only imparts information. What a person does with that information depends on the person. Proficiency only comes from practice and experience. Responsible people will behave responsibly, and irresponsible people will behave…well, you can probably finish the sentence yourself.

Training in and of itself guarantees nothing.