“I attended the CCW class taught by attorney Tim Forshey at SGC on Dec 16 for hardcard fingerprints and current legal information on civilian use of deadly force.
Most CCW classes try to delicately avoid race. This class, however, is the one Black folks fear happens behind every CCW classroom door: Mr Forshey, “[doesn’t] understand why stand-your-ground is racist”; insists that race has nothing to do with police violence; and says, rather, that if the “Black man” running away from the police while holding a knife “had just followed commands,” he would not have been shot in the back multiple times and paralyzed (ask me what this has to do with Arizona CCW law –If you ask me, I will tell you because it should not be conflated with CCW, but I will tell you how anti-Black police violence became a vestige of 2A from origination–If you don’t know how, can’t fix it).
The instructor himself promoted a double-standard in the application of CCW law: the instructor asserted that one cannot “start a fight” and then legally claim “self-defense,” while, on the other hand, ‘conceding’ that the murder of Trayvon Martin by a “known” racist concealed-carry vigilante was justified.
Martin’s murder is unjustified even by Attorney Forshey’s description of stand-your-ground: We are not to disregard EMS orders, start a fight with a child, kill the child, claim self-defense, and expect to “win”- Why did the instructor disregard his own instruction to call it justified? As an attorney, the instructor knows that there are plenty of unjust rulings in the history of U.S. law. I am sure he remembers, in law school, studying those cases in which enslaved Africans petitioned courts for their humanity and “lost.” This does not justify their enslavement.
I am also a CCW instructor and qualified to say that there is, statistically, a grave disparity between justified and unjustified use of deadly force when the defender is Black and shooting a white person versus when the shooter is white and the victim is Black. To be clear, I have phrased it this way because Trayvon Martin is now statistically considered an assailant when he was, even by Mr Forshey’s metric, a description of the victim.
It also stands to reason, civility, and professional responsibility that if you are a CCW instructor and do not know why people like me (who think gun rights are basic human rights) consider “stand-your-ground” to be anti-Black, then care enough to do the research instead of ignorantly treating the issue as ‘Black people crying racism.’
I should note that his response to my pushback in class was to calmly interrupt, “Listen, I don’t know what it’s like to be a Black woman in America.”
Then listen to Black women!
I should add that there was also the usual mocking of “pronoun use” that seems to have become standard in 2A instruction, disregarding the experience of yet another protected class, but it seems they too are considered disposable clientele.
Finally, I’m a retired Coastie, EMT, and multi-certified firearms/CCW instructor: it is my professional responsibility to say that a lot of dangerous & inconsistent information was shared about CCW law in this class. The above is of particular importance to share because it speaks to concerns of “safety” that become obstacles to “inclusion” and make vulnerable people more vulnerable. This review helps more folks “trust” and “feel safe” to use products/services in 2A community that are not only safe but relevant and worthwhile.
This class is neither, at this time, because the CCW Permit Unit does not even want paper applications and hardcard fingerprints. It will increase your processing time to 90+ days.
I was excited for the class based on my recent experience with SGC; however, it was out of touch and went over the line as reckless & uninformed. It verged on being a propaganda vehicle for a certain kind of vigilanteism.
Note as well that the instructor is SGC’s attorney among other trusted positions.
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3. Please know that SGC received in-class criticism, feedback form criticism, and this review (initially 5-stars with kind words unrelated to CCW). Their response? Try to remove the review wherever it is, even on Meetup! This has caused it to be mentioned in more places -and now without the kind words. I have appropriately edited the review down to 1-star.
4. Scottsdale Gun Club Google Reviews is stuck in “moderation”.”
Full review: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/r6ptceXYLcM9SfXd/?mibextid=oFDknk
Original 5-star review: Scottsdale Gun Club removed from our Ladies’ Day rotation.