Colorado’s Guns For Everyone has taught free concealed carry classes to around 100,000 students since 2010. On the Daily Gun Show, Edgar Antillon explained why the group started and what has kept it going.
How it started
- The group began as a comedy YouTube channel, then turned serious when Colorado began debating new gun control around 2012.
- An early spark was a push to take campus carry away from college students. The first free classes were held for them.
Why free
- The founders saw paying both an instructor and the government for permission to exercise a right as something to protest.
- An instructor fee plus state fees could run around $300, a real barrier for many people, including many who were already thinking about carrying.
- Free classes lower that barrier to the minimum.
Free, but better
- The goal was never a free class that people forgive for being free. It was a class better than paid ones, built on current, evidence-based material instead of outdated information passed from instructor to instructor.
- Students give their time, which cannot be replaced, and the group treats that seriously.
Beyond the classes
- A national organization trains and certifies instructors, working with other industry training groups.
- A printed newspaper distributed to gun shops.
- Sanctioned competitions, including one for shooters who build their own firearms.
Takeaways for students
- Price does not tell you the quality of a class. Ask what the curriculum covers and how current it is.
- Treat a permit class as a starting point. See How to Choose a Training Class and Training Schools.
Based on a video from the Gun Websites YouTube channel. Took a class recently? Write your After Action Report and add it to the Training Log.
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