Free Firearms Training for Emergencies

by Joel Rosenberg
16-Aug-2003

Free Firearms Training for Emergencies

Update: June 3, 2007
It's been just about three and a half years since I wrote this, and I've done this training several times. I know that a couple of deputies at a couple of sheriffs offices have kept my card handy, and passed it out when issuing an emergency permit — which are rare, as they should be, but perhaps a little more rare than they should be.

I did another one this weekend. I'm not going to go into details — they're not mine to share — but it was, in many ways, pretty typical of the situations I've seen where emergency permits have been issued: a very nice person is going about his or her life, and without any warning, a stalker turns everything upside down.

One big difference between now and back when I first wrote this: instead of one volunteer stepping forward to help, there's literally dozens of people in the community who are ready to step up: dealers selling guns at their cost if necessary, instructors willing to do emergency permits and/or shooting instructor at no charge. One holstermaker immediately offered to provide a holster for free.

I want to emphasize that for somebody in this horrible situation, getting a permit and a handgun isn't all of what they should do, or even most of it — restraining orders, getting the police and prosecutors involved, personal security changes, etc.

But arranging for a class is something I can help with, and I'm not just happy to; matter of fact, I'm proud to.

Onward...

One thing that the Minnesota Personal Protection Act didn't change was the ability of sheriffs to issue emergency carry permits on the spot.

Let's take a look at the law.

24.9 Subd. 11a. [EMERGENCY ISSUANCE OF PERMITS.] A sheriff may
24.10 immediately issue an emergency permit to a person if the sheriff
24.11 determines that the person is in an emergency situation that may
24.12 constitute an immediate risk to the safety of the person or
24.13 someone residing in the person's household. A person seeking an
24.14 emergency permit must complete an application form and must sign
24.15 an affidavit describing the emergency situation. An emergency
24.16 permit applicant does not need to provide evidence of training.
24.17 An emergency permit is valid for 30 days, may not be renewed,
24.18 and may be revoked without a hearing. No fee may be charged for
24.19 an emergency permit. An emergency permit holder may seek a
24.20 regular permit under subdivision 3 and is subject to the other
24.21 applicable provisions of this section.

Basically, an emergency permit is just what it sounds like: it's issued in a situation that's dire enough for a sheriff to be willing to give somebody a permit without requiring training, and without a waiting period.

It also starts a clock ticking: an emergency permit is only valid for 30 days, and can't be renewed. Somebody in that situation—in addition to having to deal with all his or her other problems—has only thirty days to find training, take it, and then apply for a regular carry permit.

I've got my own stalker, alas, and I can remember, all too well, scrambling to try to get qualified for my first carry permit, just about six years ago. Seems to me that somebody in that sort of situation already has more than enough on his or her plate. In that kind of situation, getting a carry permit is, it seems to me, important—but it's hardly the only thing that somebody should be doing. I've had a couple of students who have had some serious personal safety issues—the sorts of things that should but wouldn't have gotten them carry permits under the previous law—but my guess is that there's quite a few folks out there with the same sorts of issues. Obviously, it'll take some doing to persuade a sheriff to give out an emergency permit, but I would hope that, under the present law, they'll be more reasonable and persuadable than the old "you're not dead, so you don't need a carry permit" policy under the old law. (Yes, that's a quote, from an MPD police officer, to me. It was a fairly typical sample of the arrogance of the issuing authorities under the old law—see Sheriff Steve Borchardt's speech for a commendably frank admission of how badly the sheriffs and the police chiefs abused their discretion.)

So, as of now, I'm undertaking to train anybody with an emergency permit, for free. Period. If you're issued an emergency permit, you can either call me to set up a class—a private one, if necessary— or just show up at my next scheduled class with your emergency permit. Don't bother bringing your checkbook; there's no hidden—or other— charges. I'll pick up not only my own class fees, including the book, but range fees, ammunition, targets, etc. If I'm out of town or otherwise unavailable, David Dyer-Bennet, another AACFI-certified instructor and the co-author of the Beginner-to-Carry course will pick up the slack; one or both of us will get you through training within 72 hours of your call. Emergency permit holders with no handgun experience will be run through not only the full Twin Cities Carry Course, but the Beginner-to-Carry course, as well.

In theory, I guess, there could be a gap; a sheriff does, after all, have thirty days from when the application is handed in to issue the permit, but, in practice, I'm confident that a sheriff who issues an emergency permit won't use up the full thirty days to give a five-year permit to the same person; in practice, the required background check can easily be run in a day or two.

Realistically, I don't think I'll be doing a lot of emergency permit holder training—but I will do all of it that I'm asked to.

I can't do a lot more than "all."

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