Gun instructors' credentials questioned

Florida only began checking the certifications of firearms instructors on concealed weapon permit applications in August.

Published: Tuesday, December 25, 2012 at 6:27 p.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, December 25, 2012 at 6:27 p.m.

A surge in applications for concealed weapon permits that started with the Great Recession has given rise to a new kind of Florida con man: the fake firearms instructor.

While government officials have been touting the issuance of Florida's millionth concealed weapons permit, a cross-check of new permit applications with a database of instructors endorsed by the National Rifle Association showed that about 200 instructors did not have confirmed credentials.

Until August, Florida government had never verified instructor credentials for the more than 900,000 concealed weapon licenses issued since the program began in 1987.

“Quite honestly, we've taken it at face value,” said Ken Wilkinson, the assistant director of the Florida Division of Licensing. “About 99 percent of the people we're checking are fine.”

Some of the 200 with questionable credentials were later reinstated after they were able to prove they had valid certification. Their information had not been updated on the NRA website.

The state has not determined how many scammers without the proper credentials have been offering firearms training courses to the public.

“The division does not keep a list of those instructors whose credentials we are unable to confirm,” Wilkinson said. “It is much easier to handle each application on a case-by-case basis, and research a list of approved instructors.”

Florida law requires some form of written proof that an applicant has competency with firearms before a concealed weapon license is issued. Unless they have been trained in the military or law enforcement, most applicants seek training from a firearms instructor certified by the NRA.

They pay $20 to $200 for the course, and get a certificate to include with their license application.

But if the division discovers that the instructor was not certified, an application can be rejected.

Wilkinson warns prospective licensees that these days, it is “buyer beware.”

‘Training under false pretenses'

The problem surfaced as the Division of Licensing began using the new website hosted by the NRA.

The site was designed for the organization's firearms instructors, so they can spot-check their credentials and know when to renew their certificates. The state licensing division uses it to ensure that NRA instructors have valid credentials.

“It's proven to be a very useful tool,” Wilkinson said. “We've actually incorporated it as part of our procedures, since the demand for concealed weapons licenses is absolutely staggering.”

The division has no plans to recheck or review the roughly 800,000 licenses it already has issued to Floridians and the 116,000 licenses mailed to nonresidents in the past 25 years, Wilkinson said, acknowledging his agency does not have the manpower to keep up with the demand for the licenses.

“It would be impossible, given the scope,” he said.

Neither can his division sanction any fake trainers, Wilkinson said, citing the applicable state statute.

“That section of law does not give us any regulatory authority at all,” he said.

Wilkinson said he is unaware of any state agency that could police the instructor pool and investigate fake players.

“I know that in some cases the NRA has issued cease-and-desist notices to individuals who are providing training under false pretenses,” he said.

‘Glitchy' website a factor?

Certified firearms instructor Todd Von Bender operates a training group called the Armed Citizens League.

Given economic conditions and the widespread appeal of the concealed carry license, he understands how some may be tempted to “cash in to put groceries on the table, but the risks are too great.”

Some of the instructors flagged by the state may actually have credentials, he said. The NRA's “glitchy” website may be responsible.

Hyphenated last names, or those comprising two words like his, combined with NRA's habit of issuing different certification numbers to the same instructor, have kicked back some names as noncertified, Von Bender said.

Applications from students of these legitimate instructors are rejected until the glitches are resolved.

The NRA's public affairs office did not return several calls for this story.

‘Just flat-out wrong'

Von Bender represents one end of the firearms training spectrum.

He charges $20 for a course that meets the minimum requirements for a concealed carry license. His students shoot a handful of low-velocity rounds in his garage.

Marc Pezzella and Tom Dusseau, of Sarasota's Advanced Defensive Concepts, represent the other end.

Both are active law enforcement officers with decades of experience in patrol and SWAT operations. Pezzella is a SWAT team commander. The third member of their firm served in the U.S. Army Special Forces.

Dusseau, who served in the Marine Corps and as a civilian contractor in Iraq, said noncertified trainers “create a liability rather than an asset.”

Pezzella agrees: “It's just flat-out wrong. Someone could get killed.”

Both lawmen have seen what can happen when deadly force is used, so the “firearms competency” required by state law is expected even from novice students. They say they have failed a student who cannot meet their standards.

Unlike other courses, their students fire a minimum of 200 rounds, far more expansive than low-end concealed-carry courses.

“We tell our students when they're done with the training that it's just the beginning, and they should seek more training,” Pezzella said.


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