Rhode Island State Police Colonel James Manni says he’s a 2nd Amendment supporter, but also believes it’s too easy in his state for residents to exercise their 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. Speaking with journalist Ed Achorn of the Providence Journal, Manni said he’d like to see changes made to the concealed carry process in the state.

“A typical police officer in this state goes through well over 100 hours of training, physical training on a firearm. That’s a lot of training.  There’s no standard of training for someone who gets a concealed carry permit.  It’s really just a standard of qualification.  Punch some holes in a target with a qualification course.”

Does that mean Col. Manni thinks every Rhode Island resident seeking to exercise his or her 2nd Amendment right to bear arms should go through 100 hours of training? Honestly, it’s kind of hard to tell.

“There’s no scenario-based training, no low-light level training, no storage of firearms training, no, uh, so uh, I think there are holes in the concealed carry permitting system.”

So, maybe not 100 hours of training, but apparently Manni does believe that every concealed carry applicant should go through scenario-based training, low-light level training, and other training mandates before obtaining their license to carry.

Where to begin with this? First off, these Rhode Islanders aren’t applying for a job with the State Police. They’re applying to exercise their constitutional right (something that shouldn’t even require a license, quite frankly). The idea that gun owners should have to obtain 100 hours of training before bearing arms is ridiculous.

What about the cost here? How much does it cost the state to run a state police cadet through all of the various training exercises? Will that same training be provided free of charge to anyone applying for their concealed carry license? Otherwise, it’s gonna get pretty expensive to pay for multiple training courses before you even obtain your license.

I’ll take Col. Manni at his word when he says he’s a 2nd Amendment supporter. In his mind, I’m sure he thinks he is. But if his wish list were to become a mandate in Rhode Island, the number of individuals who could exercise their 2nd Amendment rights would plummet dramatically, and that doesn’t show support in my book. Manni’s stance turns the right to bear arms into a privilege, and one that requires not just permission from the State but a hefty bank account as well. Lower and middle income Rhode Islanders would be priced out of their right to keep and bear arms by being forced to pay for dozens of training hours, while criminals continue to pick up a gun through illicit means and carry it on the streets with no training whatsoever. That’s not commonsense, or gunsense, or anything other than nonsense.