FORGET WHAT IS seen in the movies, guns are a tool of last resort.Certified National Rifle Association firearm safety instructor, Adrian Marshall, said this was one of the things they tried to instil in all of their course participants.“We believe how guns are portrayed in the movies affect young, impressionable minds so the first thing we tell participants is to forget everything they see in them, then show the correct use of guns as a tool of last resort in self defence,” he said.Marshall was speaking to the DAILY NATION on Saturday after the graduation ceremony for the third certified firearms instructors and reliable safety training Inc. gun safety course at Kendal Sporting, St Philip.“We teach the best way to deal with confrontation is to avoid it. Firearm ownership has a tremendous responsibility; they are neither safe nor unsafe by themselves, it depends on responsible ownership,” he said.Marshall conducts the courses along with fellow instructors Chris Walker and Floyd Reid. He said they had taught around 30 or so people so far and had really seen a change in attitude concerning the safe handling of firearms.This time around a member of the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) and a trainee at the Royal Police Training Centre took part.“We sought to take the training throughout Barbados so we extended an invite to the RBPF who sent two members. We hope they will send representatives to every course we teach from now on,” he said.Marshall said the training took the form of literature; power point presentations; projector images; props and skits as well as a practical component. He said they also included an attorney to speak on the firearms act and to inform the participants of their rights.One of the participants, Dr Victor Eastmond, has held a firearm license for more than 20 years but said the course still showed him fresh things.“This course did not just go into semantics, but also details in relation to using guns in a safe manner in order to avoid any unintended injury.“It is absolutely necessary for all persons who are licensed to receive these comprehensive instructions . . . ,” he said. (CA)
