VirTra Inc (VTSI)

[Schneidku40]

I discovered a possible new market for Virtra simulators last night while reading, of all things, a Snapchat story. You're probably going to think I'm crazy when I tell you what it is, but hear my argument. College campuses. Currently there are 10 states that allow concealed carry on campus, many others with conditional carry.

The possible need is this: The story revolved around the writer, who took night classes at her university since she worked days. For months she walked back to her car with her rape whistle in one hand and a phone pre-dialed to 911 in the other, neither of which stopped her from being so worried she ran the last block to her car every night. Then she got a gun with a concealed carry license and her level of anxiety about an attack dropped considerably. She had previously never considered it, as she had grown up in a liberal family from the suburbs who didn't own or talk about guns. She said she knows several other women who have done the same thing, and said there is a growing sector of african american women who are buying guns. It was an interesting article to me, because all I've ever heard about guns on campus is "oh no, now bad guys can carry guns onto campus, we're all going to get shot." But here was a story about how the law has actually helped, or at least possibly helped, as told from a prospective victim's side.

This is both an opportunity and a threat for these women (it doesn't have to just be women, men could be robbed or minorities attacked) because if they don't have the background in gun safety, it could be bad. Holding a gun can stop an attack, but freaking out about an approaching innocent person and firing at them without provocation could be a very bad thing. All people who carry guns should have training, such as in a Virtra simulator, to help their decision-making skills.

Virtra could sell one simulator to each college and the college could put on once-a-week classes or whatever to train their students on safe gun handling. It's like birth control, just ignoring it won't help the kids make good decisions, you have to actively educate for best effectiveness, even if it's an uncomfortable subject.

I sent an email to Virtra last night about this but have not heard anything back yet.