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I get all kinds of mail at the Volusia County Health Department. Most of it is quite pleasant to read. There are letters that flatter me personally and the department as a whole (read as, "We need you to sit on a board/join a committee/give us something"). I also see the thank you notes from grateful community partners (interpreted as, "Whatever you just gave us, please give it to us again"). But every now and then something comes across my desk that is truly bizarre.
The latter category encompasses a recent letter from ASSSRANCH.com LLC. The ASSSRANCH is apparently a training facility located within the confines of Volusia fairgrounds. According to the letter, the place includes handgun and rifle ranges, an "ambush range," vehicles for "hostage recovery" simulations, and a "helicopter pad for insertion and extraction." In short, everything that a sport gun owner might need.
The letter came across my desk because the folks at ASSSRANCH "would like to offer the medical community .... NRA approved courses." These include clinically relevant training for such things as a concealed handgun certification and basic shotgun.
I'm truly not arguing with the right to "keep and bear arms." Although I'm not a hunter and I'm not interested in having a firearm anywhere near my home, I'll admit to having a great deal of fun taking potshots at cans. But does it strike anybody else as wrong that the medical community should be perceived as having a specific interest in weapons training?
Maybe we should use the word "injection" more, and the term "shot" a lot less.
