Concealed Carry Licenses / Courses

I took my class here in Michigan and went on to get my license shortly thereafter.

The class itself was very minimal and focused more on gun safety than the laws regarding carrying and the use of deadly force. Which, I dont know...I think the class should be more dedicated to the people that already know how to handle a weapon and less on the newbies just learning to shoot.

Most of the people in my class were quite a bit older and most of them didn't seem to know much about guns outside of hunting. A lot of them made mention that they would probably never carry, they just wanted it in case.

I guess what I'm rambling about is, if you're going to require a class at least weed some people out. Anybody with a heart beat can pretty much pass what I went through.

Whether or not one should be required really doesn't make a difference to me, of course my opinion can change from day to day.

It's also nice to know that people with the permit have passed a background check; I'm all for ccw's but certain people really just dont deserve/can't handle the responsibility.

all that being said, leosa beats the hell out of any ccw permit

So much truth here.

Washington State is a "shall issue" state, and I personally feel that it's way too easy to get a CPL. Schedule an appointment or stop by your local Police/Sheriff's Department with $55.25, get fingerprinted and fill out two quick forms and that's about it. If you aren't a criminal, you can pretty much get a CPL here it seems. I've seen way too many sketchy folks at the local shops with CPL's.

King County (most of the Seattle metro area) has a 30 day window that they are supposed to process your application by. I've heard from many sources that King County will take up as many of the 30 days as they can before issuing the CPL. Other local counties have turn-around times less than a week. For me personally, in King County, it took 19 days to receive my CPL in the mail (most local cities require the applicant to pick up their CPL in person, my town differs from the norm). Granted, my town does not have a Police Department and the King County Sheriff's are contracted to do the police work here, so it was a very informal appointment in comparison to some of the larger cities in the area.

Having a required class that pertains to basic firearm safety may be a bit much for most firearm enthusiasts, but certainly a class or exam on the concealed carry/self defense laws should be implemented in my opinion. Especially since the number of CPL holders has been on the rise for a few years now...idiots scare me as is, but idiots with guns is a terrifying thought.