Why We Broke Away From The NRA
For years the NRA Basic Pistol Permit Course was the only program offered in the State, in that case across the country. After careful review and teaching the program for a couple years, my staff and I realized we had so many problems with the way this course was structured.
Limitations of the NRA Basic Pistol Permit Course
A cookie-cutter approach
The NRA program offered in Connecticut is the exact same course offered in other parts of the country, despite differences in firearms laws from state to state.
Unqualified instructors
Absolutely anyone can become an NRA pistol instructor. Pay a fee, take an eight-hour course in someone’s basement, fire off a couple of rounds and viola, you can now teach the world how to be safe with a gun. This approach has saturated the market with unqualified, inexperienced firearms instructors.
Boring, superficial content
The NRA Basic Pistol Permit Course merely covers the basics and was designed with the belief that everyone learns the same way. With no variations or room to “stray,” they require instructors to teach using limited methods, even supplying them with bland slideshow presentations.
unnecessary expenses
In 2016 the NRA had a brainstorm session focused on how to make more money from an influx of pistol permit applicants.” They built a computer program and required users to take an online portion of the pistol permit course. Following that segment, users then had to find a physical organization to do their live-fire exercises, which of course charged additional fees.
Prepare To Act has been teaching pistol permit courses since 2012 — during this time, we’ve welcomed hundreds of people through our doors and hundreds more via phone and email outreach. They all had questions and concerns regarding permit classes.
Our goal has always been to create a welcoming, professional, and unintimidating learning environment. In 2016, my staff and I — disillusioned with the NRA’s dull and expensive curriculum — wrote lesson plans for an original pistol permit program offered exclusively by Prepare to Act. Following state guidelines, we wrote the program and submitted it to the Connecticut State Police Special Licensing and Firearms Unit. Once they received all the required information, they reviewed, vetted and approved our curriculum. We’ve been teaching that curriculum ever since then. We’re proud to share the ways in which Prepare To Act’s curriculum stands out from the NRA course.
Reasons to Enroll in Prepare to Act’s Pistol Permit Course
Safety
Our Pistol Permit Program was built on the principle of safety. We understand that the majority of you interested in obtaining your pistol permit most likely have limited firearm experience. The stories you may have heard about firearms likely revolve around violent crimes and accidental discharges resulting in injury or death. The goal of all of our programs, including this course, is to change that mindset and thought process.
Experience
Prepare To Act was founded by Chris Marciano, a police veteran of 20+ years. From the beginning, his goal was to offer next-level training programs that cover all facets of personal safety. Prepare To Act continues to hire instructors and staff who have real-life experience in the field. Our lead firearms instructor, Tina Perrone, is a retired Connecticut State Trooper, Certified Sig Sauer Firearms Instructor, and Krav Maga Instructor. All of our instructors’ experiences reach far beyond the basics, as they’ve spent their lives participating in extensive training sessions to become more qualified
Empathy
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. As we identified our purpose and mission at Prepare To Act, we immediately recognized what we did not want to be: intimidating, abrupt, or overly aggressive. Take those words and find their opposites — that’s what Prepare to Act strives to embody.
Confidence
Our course, our business, and our purpose are designed to help you build confidence in handling firearms, and more importantly, your own nervous system. The concept of presence of mind serves as the foundation for all of our courses. The ability to process a situation, assess it, and handle it in the best way you can comes with clarity, focus, and confidence. Confidence with firearms comes as most things do, with repetition, education, and training.
The more you handle the firearm, the better and more comfortable you will feel using it. And by using it, we mean enjoying it! Make it a hobby or a stress reliever, and have fun with it! We don’t train solely to defend life or property — we train to allow you to learn about the hobby of firearm use, respect the power of a firearm, and embrace the idea of self-protection.
As we talk about self-protection, it comes with a deep understanding of who you are and what you can do that fits your “make-up.” You cannot become what violates your core. I’m scared of heights — I’d be a terrible fire jumper or military member forced to jump from a plane. No thanks! Snakes? Nope, not them either. Someone else can be a snake wrangler. I’ve learned to know my limitations.
I am a supporter of firearms possession by well-educated, mature, law-abiding, mentally stable community members across the country. If you’ve gotten this far it means you are seriously interested and curious about taking a pistol permit class. We are excited about that and want you to be comfortable, understand that at the completion of our course, you will be able to apply for your Connecticut Pistol Permit. You will not be qualified to become a Navy Seal and attack the enemy. Why? Because we all need to know our limits.
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What To Expect From Our Pistol Permit Class.