I have been an NRA Instructor for nearly as long as I have been an attorney. Several years before becoming an NRA instructor, I created this website with the purpose of advancing gun rights and gun safety knowledge. Over the years I have given the Iowa Permit to Carry Weapons class to employees, friends, relatives, and others. Sometimes I’ve given one-on-one classes, and other times I’ve had groups up to a dozen people at once.
As an attorney, I have represented many clients with firearms-related cases, ranging from FFL issues with the BATFE, to self defense shootings, to various firearms possession charges. Through the course of representing my clients in their cases, more often than not I am left with the conclusion that things could have been much easier for the client if only I could have gone back in time and given them information before their case became a case at all. Since it is impossible to go back in time and give a person firearms and law information, the next best option is to get that information to people before they need it – and that is the purpose of this class. This class does not include time spent firing a gun, but rather covers knowledge. I encourage everyone to obtain hands-on range training and stay proficient, but my focus is primarily upon knowledge.
I offer two classes:
1. Iowa Permit to Carry + Iowa/Illinois Gun Laws and Self Defense: Along with providing the standard information required for an Iowa Resident Non-Professional Permit to Carry Weapons class, I place an emphasis on helping people understand the legal aspect of owning and carrying a firearm, as well as what to do (and what not to do) in the event they are forced to use their gun in self defense. More of an emphasis is placed upon law than you would expect from a run-of-the-mill gun training class. This class meets the training requirement for an Iowa resident to obtain their Iowa Non-Professional Permit to Carry Weapons, and a completion certificate will be provided at the end of the class.
2. Illinois Gun Laws and Self Defense: Same as the above, but does not include the Iowa Non-Professional Permit to Carry Weapons training certificate.
Those who are in the Quad-Cities area and interested in signing up for a class can do so here.