Drawing from a holster September 3, 2013

[ilfishin]

I can tell that we don't agree on this issue. I'm not going to try and persuade or argue with you; I'll just try to lay out some facts:

Q: How would you know there is a lack of reporting?
A: When I was the club president I would commonly get complaints from folks that said something to the effect of: "I saw somebody breaking rule XXX? We should do something about it!" My follow up question would usually be "Did you talk to them or get their contact info?" The answer was almost invariably "No". Unfortunately, this creates a no-win situation for Board members. The Safety Concern Form and Safety Officer program were both created to help us combat this issue. I also really dislike the use of the term "snitch" when it comes to filling out the Safety Concern Form. Our Safety Concern Form program was created in an effort to make sure that the rules created by our elected Board Members get enforced. By using these forms, we've headed off a lot of safety issues, and kicked folks out of the club when necessary.

I have asked the same question before, with the same results. My response is to ask how they would feel if when they got home, they found out that that someone had injured or God forbid killed somebody right after that. Knowing that they left that person in an unsafe condition and a quick word with them may have prevented it. Most of them have gotten the point.

I'm troubled with the line of reasoning that we just have to allow something, and that we don't need to do anything to manage the concerns some members have with safety. I feel like what folks are really saying is:

"MCFG should allow ME to draw whenever I want (during normal business hours) and MCFG and the Board should accept all the liability and responsibility."

That's not what I meant, though I now see how you could think I did. I was trying to say, don't go overboard with the rules. Adding more of a financial burden on the members for something like this is going too far in my opinion.

As someone who helped the club manage through a tough time (workers compensation claim after the accidental death of our groundskeeper), I don't want to go through something like that again. As a former Board member, I do not want to volunteer my time (~80 hours per year, even without any big issues) to be on the Board again, especially if I feel like I'm potentially going to have to deal with insurance issues, police reports, legal issues, etc. While as a member you stand to get hurt, or lose your place to shoot, the volunteer Board Members stand to lose days of their year dealing with issues (aside from just getting the plan implemented), and the club potentially has to pay the bill.

I understand all to well the time put in when someone volunteers. All I can say to this is, if they don't want to "deal with issues", maybe they shouldn't have ran for the position.

 

[rmg200]

I like the idea of drawling from a holster (especially in the bays), but wouldn't want to risk a possible lawsuit if evidence proves drawling from a holster increases those chances.

 

[Coach]

I like the idea of drawling from a holster (especially in the bays), but wouldn't want to risk a possible lawsuit if evidence proves drawling from a holster increases those chances.

It does not.

 

[rmg200]

Then I'm all for it. I would love to get practice with my draw and first shot; something many would consider a necessity in a self defense type situation.