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Unless things have changed in Florida since 1997, you don't have to do any practical shooting to get your CCW license here, either.
Personally, I think that's how it ought to be, if as you say they were requiring people to qualify with shots out to 50 feet.
Is that a personal defense distance? Is it reasonable to hold someone to be able to shoot a silhouette at 50 feet with a 3" barrel defensive carry gun?? I am not so sure I'd do all that well with my GLOCK 27 at that distance. Should I have to? Or should I have to also own and bring a gun that's better for that distance, and qualify with that, even though I won't be carrying it?
I think that no one who is mentally and physically competent (as well as not having a record of violent-crime convictions) should be able to be denied CCW licensure. And I don't think that a person need be all that great shakes with their carry weapon.
Should they be able to demonstrate their ability to competently handle the gun, as in load, unload, and manipulate all its functions? Sure. But as long as they can fire when they intend to and make sure not to fire when they don't intend to, and as long as they can hit a man-sized target within about 20 feet a couple of times out of five, I think they have what they need to be allowed to carry a gun for personal protection.
A sharpshooter they need not be. Let's remember that they tell us statistically, encounters where a CCW gun is used to stop a crime, most often it's not even fired.
-azurefly
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