Certificatified!

That's my new word of the week. :)

I may have mentioned this in the past, but I don't particularly agree with the politics of the NRA. As much as they claim to be a non-partisan group, they are still heavily involved in politics. I do, however, admit that they are the strongest of the Second Amendment advocacy groups out there, though a couple chapters of the ACLU are actually starting to come around.

That being said, I also recognize that they're also the only organization out there that provides credentials that are widely recognized in terms of being able to teach... I love to teach. I've been doing it since my senior year in high school; I have this thing about sharing what I know with others. That's why when I offered to teach the students in the Criminal Justice program at Delaware Tech how to shoot, the first thing that was asked of me was, "Are you certified?"

I begrudgingly grumbled that, even though I was very active with IPSC and USPSA Competitive shooting, that I was not certified... the issue pretty much went away.

Fast forward a few months, and I actually have the opportunity to take classes to get my certification. So, as of last weekend, I successfully completed my class to become a certified Range Safety Officer and qualified as an Instructor. This weekend, I'll be taking my class for my focus discipline: pistols.

So, starting shortly, I'll be offering classes to the general public under my new company: Delaware Patriot.

Courses will be offered for the NRA developed F.I.R.S.T. Steps and Basic Pistol program.

Additionally, for those who take my NRA Basic Pistol course, they then qualify to take both the Delaware Carry Concealed Deadly Weapon License course and the Florida Carry Concealed Weapon License course.

I'm in the process for creating the website, however, its current incarnation can be found here. If anyone is interested in obtaining their license to conceal in Delaware or would just like to learn how to shoot a pistol, definitely drop me a line -- the rental of a pistol to use for the course is available.

I look forward to teaching and sharing my knowledge with others.

Change of Focus

Well, I've had quite the opportunity fall into my lap...

As I've indicated in some of my previous blogs, I'm working towards my B.A. in Criminal Justice with the intent of going on to Law School, most likely to focus on Criminal and Constitutional Law.

Well, a podcast I'd recently begun to listen to, Life of a Law Student, had been a stalled project for some time... The podcast basically entails of a law student going to class, learning and researching the material for that class, coming home and creating a podcast discussing what the professor had gone over -- this allows a few things:

1. Gives a student incentive to truly learn the material, enough to act as an authority on the matter.
2. Disseminate legal knowledge in a user-friendly format for free.
3. Allow the student to develop their oral skills by speaking on subject matter related to their field.
4. Create a body of work and to build a reputation in the legal community so that, when they receive their J.D., they're able to provide more than just a simple resume.
   

Project lead, Neil Wehnemen, had gotten caught up working on the current presidential campaign, taking courses at his law school and, of course, being a good husband, so I had sent him an email offering to provide some undergraduate content to flesh out what he already had, also offering him my extensive background in the field of computer science and sound production to also further the project. Well, he countered with an offer to take the project over.

Needless to say I was floored. It took me a few days to mull things over, but I eventually agreed and, as of last week, I begin the process of updating the site's code and recorded my introductory podcast, which I'll be publishing later on this week.

I hope that any of you with an interest in law, whether it be specific or latent, stop by http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/ and check it out -- Neil has already posted so much content, I'm sure there will be something there of interest for you.

On another note, I'll be taking a few training courses over the next couple of weeks -- my Range Safety Officer, Basic Instructor and Pistol Instructor so, hopefully, but the end of August, I'll be able to begin offering training courses for the NRA Basic Pistol Certification, Delaware Carry Concealed Weapon Licenses and the Florida Concealed Handgun Licenses... If anyone is interested in any of these courses, please feel free to drop me a line.