By Chris Marvin
While Train SMART was created by veterans, our reach extends well beyond that community. In fact, our primary audience is current and prospective gun owners, and we’re different because we’re bringing the military’s respect and training for firearms to the civilian world.
It’s therefore understandable that when veterans hear about Train SMART, they think, “I don’t need this, I already got this training when I was serving.” Nonetheless, we have found great success marketing the program in veteran circles, and that’s why we attended MCON in Las Vegas in October.
MCON is a gathering held annually to celebrate military culture and veterans. The expo is full of people presenting any number of products and services, such as novel wellness offerings, jiu jitsu demonstrations, help with applications for VA benefits, and organizations supporting military families.
A Breath of Fresh Air
Our Train SMART booth was placed directly behind two booths belonging to groups that push a “guns everywhere” agenda and try to abolish common-sense gun laws, like background checks on gun sales. Both organizations had larger booths, but we got just as much foot traffic as they did. In fact, it seemed like we offered a refreshing conversation for most folks who came to us directly from those booths.
Speaking honestly, one woman came over directly from one of the groups and said, “Ugh. That made me feel dirty. Are you guys going to push guns on me, too?” Our answer was no. We aren’t pushing anything but safety. She listened and took interest.
More often we simply received positive feedback for our program. This conference wasn’t the first time that we had a firearms instructor certified by another group tell us, “Train SMART is exactly what we need right now.”
A Common-Sense Approach
So many people tell us that they find our approach to be not only centered on common sense, but also a more accurate application of the way most gun owners treat and respect their firearms and the way firearms should be used in civilian life.
This is what I learned most from my time at MCON — not that we should be marketing to veterans or that veterans are a great group of folks to recruit as future instructors for Train SMART. No, I learned that a lot of gun owners don’t feel represented by many of the groups out there today, or even the gun industry itself. It’s becoming abundantly clear that Train SMART, as a concept, is serving to separate the wheat from the chaff. We are speaking to the gun owners who care about gun safety, and (unsurprisingly) it’s the vast majority of gun owners.
Sure, the gun groups might offer humorous stickers and T-shirts, and one had an AR-15-style rifle on display despite supposedly being devoted to concealed carry. And yes, their banter does appeal to some people who own guns, until you peel back the layers and realize that their efforts run counter to a gun culture built on safety. That fact wasn’t lost on the MCON visitors who frequented their tables, and those folks weren’t afraid to tell us that when they came to our display.
Meeting Gun Owners Where They Are
It heartens me to know that the effort we have put into building Train SMART is recognized by so many people when they learn about our offerings. This program is meant to meet gun owners where they are, rather than trying to change their minds, influence their vote, or move them along some opinion spectrum. In fact, because Train SMART is almost exclusively marketed to current or prospective gun owners, the program has to be that way. Gun safety has to start with the people who own the guns.
Over and over, we talked about how training, safety, and accountability are at the core of the Train SMART curriculum. We told people how easy it is to access our courses. How each course is available online for very reasonable prices, and they can be taken either live with an instructor or on demand. We want to enable busy people to find time in their busy days to learn how to be safe with the firearms they own or may choose to buy soon.
MCON taught me that Train SMART is not engaged in a debate with the gun lobby or the gun industry. Rather, Train SMART is a haven for gun owners who are tired of the violent rhetoric, the uncompromising positions, and the unwillingness to promote safety or violence prevention that has become inherent at the organizations most closely tied to the manufacturing and sale of guns.
Train SMART is offering a new dialogue and a new option when it comes to the use of firearms, and that option is safety first and responsibility always — just like it’s done in our nation’s profession of arms.
Chris Marvin is a former U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter pilot and combat-wounded veteran of the war in Afghanistan. He serves as a Train SMART advisor and Everytown’s veteran lead. No component of the Department of Defense has approved, endorsed, or authorized this program.