Hi folks:
I'm new to the forum and thought I'd introduce myself. I posted in the MontCo area, but wanted to say hello to other areas as well.
I'm originally from the NW (Oregon), but I've been living/working here in MontCo for the last six years. I came to SEPA by way of the world's "garden spots", as I'm formerly a dignitary protection (firearm) instructor for the U.S. State Department, and now call MontCo home. Great place and great people here!!
The gun culture in southern Oregon where I grew up was and is strong, so I've been a shooter all my life. But I've found that here in the mid-Atlantic region it's a bit of a different culture. However, I consider myself very fortunate to have landed in PA, which is one of the few NE states that still supports and respects our 2nd Amendment rights!
After the second election of our current POTUS, and the ensuing increase in firearms sales, I started to give some thought to the number of folks buying firearms and obtaining CCWs (LTCFs) who had no or minimal training in handgun safety and deployment. Frankly, this has caused me some personal and professional consternation! Please don't take me the wrong way, I'm an ardent supporter of our constitutional right to armed self-defense! But I also feel strongly that with that right comes the responsibility to carry safely and to gain a reasonable level of proficiency!
As we all know, after the tragedy (mass homicide) at Sandy Hook, the resultant knee jerk reactions of the uninformed calling for restrictive firearm legislation sent firearm sales and LTCF applications through the roof!
Well, this was the swift kick in the pants I needed. Because I'm employed in a profession that requires me to work in an armed capacity, and as a result of the credibility my former career affords me with law enforcement, I and my subordinates have had access to the MontCo TRTC range for the last few years, and we frequently train and qualify there. Recently, I initiated discussions with the MontCo public safety training administration to see what I could do to provide law abiding gun owners here in SEPA, and specifically MontCo, with an increased opportunity to gain an appropriate level of firearm safety and defensive firearm training. The result is the formation of an incredibly well trained and experienced cadre of firearm instructors who will be presenting real world firearm training at the MontCo Tactical Response Training Center (TRTC) in Conshohocken.
This endeavor is still in its infancy, and I continue to assemble the myriad of pieces to this puzzle, so please have patience with me. But if you're new to gun ownership and/or wish to explore defensive handgun & carbine training opportunities in MontCo, please feel free stop by http://gtg-rangetime.com. The site isn't finished yet, but I promise you that I'm working on it!
In any event, I look forward to becoming a contributing member here on the PAFOA forum, and I hope I have an opportunity to meet and get to know other PAFOA members, whether that be in person or virtually.
Stay safe,
Tom
