Those looking to obtain their concealed carry permit in Maryland must complete a Maryland State Police-approved wear and carry firearms training course. But for Freestate Firearms Training, the course doesn’t just cover the skills of how to legally carry a gun — half of the 16-hour course is devoted to learning the mindset of when and how to use a firearm responsibly.
Facilitated by Freestate Firearms Training founder Dave Ritchie and Hap Baker Firearms Facility Chief Range Officer Chuck Hamlet, last weekend’s course was one of the Carroll County-based training organization’s monthly initial application courses held over weekends at the Robert Moton Center and the Hap Baker Firearms Facility. The first eight-hour day focuses on the mindset of legally carrying a firearm in public, and the second focuses on the skill set — both of which a student needs to be successful.
Mindset is essential in responsibly carrying a firearm, Ritchie said, as using a firearm is “absolutely a last resort.”
First, students should try to defend themselves unarmed or de-escalate the situation before using any firearms to defend themselves by being aware of their surroundings. If someone does have to use a firearm, Ritchie said, they must be able to articulate and defend the need for using a gun to defend themselves or others.
“Self-defense tools only provide us with one means to employ lawful force if necessary,” Ritchie said. “So if we’re to make any credible claim to be in the right, we need to embrace a duty to avoid pointless, ego-driven conflict.”
One prevalent form of this ego-driven conflict presents itself in road rage confrontations. Ritchie cited an active case in which Taneytown resident Davon Joseph Dabbs shot and killed another driver and injured others in a road rage incident July 4, 2024. Dabbs’ next trial is scheduled for January after a hung jury in April, and he is facing charges of manslaughter, four counts of first-degree assault and one count of second-degree assault.
One of the tactics Ritchie and Hamlet demonstrated that someone can defend themselves with before using a firearm is to ask the perceived threat to back up. If the situation does not defuse, Ritchie recommended they back away from the threat with their hands forward and palms out and yell loudly for them to back up as to “snap them out of it.”
For those who are hotheaded or easy to anger, Ritchie said carrying a gun is “not a good idea” due to the potential consequences of hurting someone. And to those who are having a bad day or in a bad mood, Ritchie said it might be “a good day to leave the firearm” at home.
“Everything sounds like a big circle, because everything is about not ever having to use a gun — that’s what the whole class is really about,” Hamlet said. “It all just goes right to being aware of your surroundings, who’s around you, and maybe finding another path to take so you don’t end up in this situation. A lot of our own decisions get us into the situations we get in.”
Proper training from professionals is a key component in helping students learn marksmanship, situational awareness and decision-making under pressure when handling a firearm, according to Freestate Firearms Training’s website. Ensuring a student is competent in these areas will allow them to responsibly and safely handle firearms.
“When we do decide to be legally armed, we embrace both the rights and responsibilities, guided above all else by the desire to preserve innocent life,” Ritchie said. “We can sit here and we’re going to discuss for 16 hours, today and tomorrow, but it’s going to be just a couple of seconds out in public — and that’s why it’s so important to understand everything we’re going to go over and put into practice.”
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