EL DORADO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA — Pastors, ministers, and church security personnel recently attended a free concealed carry firearms class put on by Geof Peabody in the foothills of El Dorado County, California. As CBS News reports, Peabody offers regular classes for free for church-goers so they can be better prepared to receive their concealed carry weapons permit and protect the lives of their fellow congregants.
While some have argued a church is no place for a gun, many pastors and church security officials see it differently.
via CBS News
“Does it seem to go against the sanctity of the church in any way to bring a gun into church?” Blackstone asked.
“Not at all, not at all,” said Bruce Shoff, who serves on a security team at his church. “The Bible tells us to be our brother’s protector…it’s just another tool.”
Peabody’s course emphasises heavily on the core principles of firearm safety as well as identifying hostile targets from fellow concealed carriers or law enforcement. Peter Blair pointed out, as one of the instructors for a police course on handling mass shootings, it’s an uphill battle to train to fight effectively in those situations.
“You might end up shooting another concealed weapons holder that you don’t recognize. The police may shoot you,” Blair said. “You might accidentally shoot an innocent person when you’re shooting at the attacker.”
Even with the obstacles, El Dorado County law enforcement seem ultimately in support of Peabody’s training.
“As a law enforcement officer, do you feel safer, the more concealed carry permits are out there?” Blackstone asked El Dorado County Sheriff John D’Agostini.
“Absolutely,” D’Agostini said. “These are law-abiding people. It’s the evil criminals that are the threat.”
A big thing we always promote within the concealed carry community is that training is a continual process. While it’s good to get familiarized with potential response and reaction drills, nothing helps more than continually practicing and improving upon those techniques. Certainly, as more people legally arm up, it’s always good to raise the bar for training as well.
Train how you intend to fight.