So recently I took the wife to an intro to handguns class at West Coast Armory over in Bellevue. I was not OCing as I did not have an OC holster for the gun I was carrying that day so I was concealing instead, plan to pick one up next week.
The class was taught by the range master and another guy. They were pretty nice and professional, and I think they did a pretty good job and packed in quite a bit of info. into the class. There was a wide variety of people there: young, old, men, women, etc. There was also quite a variety of experience too, and this leads to my only gripe on an otherwise great class.
They started talking about carrying and WA state law. To his credit, the guy assisting the range master pointed out that WA is an open carry state, and expressed the difference between public buildings, federal buildings, GFSZs, etc. But then he tacked on his opinion that 'OCing in Western WA was bad and would just get you hassled constantly by police.' He also said it made you lose a 'tactical advantage' in a crime situation.
While I respect everyone's right to an opinion I felt in this situation it was a shame that he was mixing his opinion in with law enforcement expectations and what to do/what not to do to a class of people, many of whom were inexperienced and were very impressionable. I would say that many jurisdictions in western WA have become more OC friendly and knowledgeable over time due to the diligence of citizens and training efforts.
As to the argument about "tactical advantage" I would disagree: many criminals are deterred by OC. I have seen it in action first-hand myself. And it is definitely more advantageous to deter a crime completely rather than be forced to react to one with deadly force.
The other thing I would say about OC is that the more people that do it, the more accepting society will become of it. I found this to be quite ironic that they were against OC yet at the end of the class pointed out that laws were changing fast and encouraged us to 'remember our experience when we vote.'
In any case, I didn't want to argue with the guy since it was his class and I thought it might be rude, also I was embarrassed because I was CCing that day due to no OC holster available and I thought it might look funny for me to argue in favor of OC while not doing it at that moment.
In any case, just a small complaint. I think the class overall was very good, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a handgun class for a spouse, child, niece/nephew, etc. If you do, make sure to OC and maybe it will spark a great conversation.
The class was taught by the range master and another guy. They were pretty nice and professional, and I think they did a pretty good job and packed in quite a bit of info. into the class. There was a wide variety of people there: young, old, men, women, etc. There was also quite a variety of experience too, and this leads to my only gripe on an otherwise great class.
They started talking about carrying and WA state law. To his credit, the guy assisting the range master pointed out that WA is an open carry state, and expressed the difference between public buildings, federal buildings, GFSZs, etc. But then he tacked on his opinion that 'OCing in Western WA was bad and would just get you hassled constantly by police.' He also said it made you lose a 'tactical advantage' in a crime situation.
While I respect everyone's right to an opinion I felt in this situation it was a shame that he was mixing his opinion in with law enforcement expectations and what to do/what not to do to a class of people, many of whom were inexperienced and were very impressionable. I would say that many jurisdictions in western WA have become more OC friendly and knowledgeable over time due to the diligence of citizens and training efforts.
As to the argument about "tactical advantage" I would disagree: many criminals are deterred by OC. I have seen it in action first-hand myself. And it is definitely more advantageous to deter a crime completely rather than be forced to react to one with deadly force.
The other thing I would say about OC is that the more people that do it, the more accepting society will become of it. I found this to be quite ironic that they were against OC yet at the end of the class pointed out that laws were changing fast and encouraged us to 'remember our experience when we vote.'
In any case, I didn't want to argue with the guy since it was his class and I thought it might be rude, also I was embarrassed because I was CCing that day due to no OC holster available and I thought it might look funny for me to argue in favor of OC while not doing it at that moment.
In any case, just a small complaint. I think the class overall was very good, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a handgun class for a spouse, child, niece/nephew, etc. If you do, make sure to OC and maybe it will spark a great conversation.
Last edited: