Committee grants 30-day stay to Department of Safety on enhanced-handgun-permit rule after instructor objections

The Department of Safety proposed changes to its enhanced-handgun-permit training rules that would bar live firearms and live ammunition from classroom portions of the course, require instructors to hold the enhanced permit they teach, and prohibit schools from sharing participants' personal information outside the school or the department. Elizabeth Stroker, general counsel for the department, said the changes were prompted by "an incident where an instructor shot a student in a classroom" and reflected department liability and safety concerns.

Two firearms instructors, Jonathan Lowe (defensivepistolcraft.com) and Joseph Smith (retired Metro Police firearms instructor), told the committee that removing live firearms from classroom demonstrations would hamper teaching of trigger control, administrative manipulation and cleaning, and that forcing students to leave firearms in vehicles raises theft and safety issues. Lowe said the classroom ban "would make it impossible to teach trigger control," and Smith described safety practices used in his classes.

After debate about phrases such as "permanently disabled" firearms and how to handle training aids, Representative Faison offered a 30-day stay to allow the department and stakeholders to refine the rule. The committee approved the stay by recorded voice and roll-call votes; staff will file the stay with the Secretary of State's office.