Throughout the continued civil unrest across the country – whether in Kenosha, Portland, St. Louis or elsewhere – it is critical that all Americans have a sense of security and the ability to protect themselves and those around them when faced with a variety of situations, according to the United States Concealed Carry Association.
The USCCA – which is the largest and fastest growing organization in the country focused on providing self-defense education, training and legal protection for more than 450,000 responsible American gun owners – is actively working for those who exercise their Constitutional right to self-protection while encouraging all responsible gun owners, particularly first-time purchasers, to take the appropriate education and training courses.
USCCA President and Founder Tim Schmidt recently joined Stephanie Hamill, host of ‘In Focus’ on One American News Network, noting, “[W]e’ve seen millions and millions… of new gun owners across the country… just by owning a gun doesn’t make you proficient with it. You need to have good training and education so you know what you can and can’t do… We are here to create responsible firearm owners.”
“[When] the Kenosha riots happened, that really hit
home to me,” Schmidt said. “So close to our headquarters here in
Wisconsin. All across the country, many Americans are having the same
feeling, ‘my goodness this could happen in my town.’ And that’s why we’ve seen
millions and millions, I believe it’s over five million new gun owners across
the country. Part of me gets excited about that but part of me gets a
little nervous, because just by owning a gun [it] doesn’t make you proficient
with it. You need to have good training and education so you know what
you can and can’t do… We are here to create responsible firearm
owners.”
Over the past eight
months, there have been record firearms related background checks, USCCA noted.
August, for example, saw more than 3.11 million background checks through the
FBI’s National Instant Check System (NICS).
“I remember the
middle of March when coronavirus started to kickoff and we instantly saw a
spike of 30 percent daily basis of new members,” Schmidt recalled. “People were
just uncertain and uncertainty leads to fear, and quite frankly when you’re
fearful, you think about ‘Hey, I need to protect my family and loved ones,’ and
I’ll say… I don’t care what side of the aisle you’re on… everybody wants safety
and security for their families.”
