"Indiana enlists NRA to train National Guard on firearms"

[DonP]

I got tired of irrelevant "cut and pastes", so there's this in today's Tribune to liven things up.

This one is just about Basic Pistol and CCW training, no politics involved. Too bad our current resident NRA hater has most of us on ignore, ain't it?.

"The National Rifle Association has been instructing Indiana's National Guard members on how to use concealed weapons after Republican Gov. Mike Pence directed the state's military bases and training centers to beef up security in response to recent attacks in Tennessee.

According to a survey by The Associated Press, Indiana is the only state to enlist the NRA's help in the training, which the gun-rights group says it will conduct free of charge for any guardsman who wants to carry a concealed handgun.

Although National Guard members traditionally have not been allowed to carry weapons while conducting most stateside duties, Pence is one of 14 governors who decided to arm them in the wake of a gunman's attacks last month on two U.S. military sites in Chattanooga that left four Marines dead. In order to be armed, a guardsman must have a valid conceal-carry permit and undergo training. Van Bree declined to say how many members have been approved to be armed.

Guy Relford, an NRA instructor who recently trained about 65 Indiana guardsmen at an armory in Franklin, said his "basic pistol" course delves into safety scenarios on when and when not to shoot."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-indiana-nra-firearms-training-20150821-story.html

Amazingly, the same groups that say only the police and "militia" should be armed are really upset about this. You'd almost think that whole "cops and militia" thing was bullshit and they really don't want anyone armed.

Worth noting that the NRA also developed the Squad Designated Marksman program for the US Army as well and trains most state and many municipal police forces on safety and marksmanship.

[Duckhunter935]

1. The NRA has great training programs

The political side has issues but the gun training is top notch and has been for generations. I wish the so called "gun safety" organizations would do as much. It would be great if the cut and paste master would like to comment and discuss this along with anyone else with their point of view. I bet we just hear the deafening silence of crickets though.

[sarisataka]

2. "A well regulated militia"

It sounds like the Indiana governor is regulating his militia

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

7. Agreed, especially if "well-regulated" means ...

... armed and trained.

Training for concealed carry is not very prevalent in the military. CID and other specialized jobs may require it, but most military jobs don't.

[SecularMotion]

3. The NRA should be banned from government contracts

as long as it continues to promote hate speech like this -

NRA Board Member Ted Nugent Calls Black Man A "Mongrelboy" In Latest Racially Charged Facebook Rant

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/08/20/nra-board-member-ted-nugent-calls-black-man-a-m/205057[div]

[DonP]

4. Why don't you get right on that

You seem so involved in actually doing what you keep posting about. I'm sure you'll have petitions circulating in no time at all.

Remember, you have 50 states to cover, so get busy.

[beevul]

5. And support for bloomberg and his groups should be prohibited from DU.

Or is it your position that even though they're both racist fuckwads, that one is acceptable?

[Duckhunter935]

6. Do you have anything to comment

On about the OP that is about firearms training? Maybe if some of Bloombergs "gun safety" groups would actually do firearms safety training. That's right, those AstroTurf groups do no do gun safety.

[shadowrider]

8. Hang on just a second

Don't the controllers go on and on and on and on about how, if someone is going to conceal carry, they should get training? And now you're complaining that those who are going to conceal carry are going to get that training?

My head is swimming.

[DonP]

9. What contract? They're doing it for free

Obviously you don't read other people's posts any better than you read your own.

There is no contract, the NRA is doing it for free.

But I'm sure you can recommend another competent source for handgun training? Maybe Everytown for Gun Safety, or thge Brady Campaign? The claim to be gun safety organizations, so they must have some safety training programs, right?

[friendly_iconoclast]

10. An object lesson on how ideology can overwhelm critical reading skills...

[DonP]

11. The total hypocrisy of gun control on display

The people whining the loudest (Brady et. al.), are the same ones that have been telling us for years that "only the police and the militia should have guns".

Now, their version of the "militia" is being trained on using handguns, and they squeal louder than ever.

Thankfully their own blatant hypocrisy and inability to control themselves, by consistently over reaching legislatively, continues to make them marginal players on the issue.