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We are reshaping or challenging prevailing perspectives on current events. "Change The Narrative" reflects an intention to not only inform but also inspire listeners to engage with current events thoughtfully and proactively.
Wesley Knight 0:00
This is a KU NV studios original program. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 jazz and more the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education. You
Rico White 0:30
and welcome to change the narrative. We are here again on this Sunday, beautiful morning, and we are going to have a wonderful show today. We're talking about CCW, and if you don't know what that stands for, is carrying a concealed weapon. And I don't know if I said it right, but I am here with the wonderful smart I can't even put it into words how knowledgeable this individual is that's sitting to my right. Her name is Sarah Fernandez, and Sarah's here with us today. She's going to tell us everything we need to know about how to obtain a CCW, what you do with it, the legalities of having one, so on and so forth. So Sarah, welcome. How are you today?
Sarah Fernandez 1:16
Well, thank you for having me here today. Rico. I really appreciate you.
Rico White 1:19
Okay, all right, so tell us a little bit about yourself.
Sarah Fernandez 1:23
I've been in Vegas since 1997 Okay, I have two daughters, Sierra and Sasha Coleman. I've been just exploring into this, more of the public side and the legal side of CCWS. We have a lot of people out there who carry a firearm. One, don't know how to use it. Two, don't understand the concept of a CCW, okay, you have people that will run around with a gun on them, and they'll have it imprinted on their clothing that's not concealed, okay, but they believe because it's under something that's concealed when it's not women who put it in their purses, that's considered conceal. But you better have your CCW, because what's going to happen is, you ever get pulled over and you have that in your purse and you don't have a CCW, you can get it pretty much taken
Rico White 2:20
from you, the gun taken from you, or would you end up going to jail, or anything? No.
Sarah Fernandez 2:25
But with the way society is going now, a lot of people have firearms. Don't know how to use them, okay, not only do they not know how to use them, they don't know the legalities behind it. Okay, people are so quick to pull it out. If you pull out your gun, you can get in trouble with Metro for that. If you point it,
Rico White 2:45
it's even worse. Oh, you mean, if I point it at somebody, yeah?
Sarah Fernandez 2:49
So if you just pull out your gun, you know, you see on these videos, you know? Oh, I got this for you. Okay, that's illegal.
Rico White 2:56
Oh, is it to show my gun like that? Yeah, fill up my waist.
Sarah Fernandez 2:59
Okay, a lot of people don't know that, but if you did it to me and I called the cops on you, you'd get in trouble for it. Would I go to jail? You probably wouldn't go to jail. But is that a felony? No, it's not misdemeanor. It would be me a misdemeanor. Okay? You don't want to get your rights taken away from you, because once you have them, they're yours. Keep them so that you don't have them, take them from
Rico White 3:20
you, right, right, right. Okay, so you own a CCW company, and if I'm not mistaken, it's SF dash, CCW correct, okay. And may I ask, what inspired you to start a CCW company?
Sarah Fernandez 3:39
Well, definitely, um, I founded a nonprofit called females of color gun club. Oh, let's stop what is that? That is a gun club that teaches women and children gun safety. Okay? A lot of people don't understand it. When you have a child and you have a gun in your home, you should be teaching your you know, people say, How old is too early to teach a child. Teach them like you would tell them you when you touch the stove, it's hot, you're gonna get burned. That's the same thing with a gun. Okay? I have a friend that babysitted some kids, and they thought the gun was a toy, and she happened to walk out of the room and the older brother shot little brother. Oh, Lord. So it's something that kids need to know. And I'm pro women, you know, empowering women, I'm definitely about that we have a lot of sex trafficking and all types of stuff. If you're protected and you know what you're doing, and you know the legal rights and ramifications of having a firearm, it's something that women need to know. And I believe that, as a female, teaching the class, I make more women feel more comfortable than if they went to a man class. I do teach men as well, but when it comes to women, I think they feel more comfortable with a woman than they would a man. Some women do get intimidated. Most of the classes I've ever taken, I've only been the only female in the class. So okay, takes a lot to intimidate me.
Rico White 5:04
Well, we won't be intimidating somebody who runs a CCW company. I can tell you that right now. You don't got to worry about that.
Sarah Fernandez 5:11
But not only that, I'm also certified in other fields.
Rico White 5:15
I was going to ask you that. So tell me a little bit about your certifications. And besides teaching and everything, what are you what are you certified in?
Sarah Fernandez 5:25
So I'm certified in pistol, rifle, safety, in the home protection, out the home protection. Okay, refuse to be a victim. What's refused to be a victim? What does that mean? So that is for someone that does not have a firearm. Okay? So basically, you're teaching whether men, women and children, because honestly, when you get a gun, you need to ask yourself, are you willing to pull that trigger?
Rico White 5:53
Yeah, it's a split second decision that could so
Sarah Fernandez 5:56
just getting a gun just to say you have one, it's not a good look, because what if it's taken from you now it's used against you? Okay? So refuse to be a victim is other ways to protect yourself without having a firearm. Okay? So I definitely, I was actually thinking of maybe going to some of the high schools and offering the class for free to the young ladies and young men at
Rico White 6:20
the school really for free, refused to be a victim class. Definitely okay. So what else are you certified in
Sarah Fernandez 6:28
besides guns? No,
Rico White 6:30
no, no. I mean, as far as certifications, is with the guns and
Sarah Fernandez 6:34
so I'm certified in CCW. I'm actually considering getting my CCW instructor licensed through Arizona and Utah as well.
Rico White 6:43
Oh, besides Nevada, correct. Okay, what is the like? Because I understand, if I'm not mistaken, you've got some classes that are going to be coming up in February, correct? And what does Can I ask what the class entails?
Sarah Fernandez 6:59
So basically, the class is going to cover your firearm, what each part of your firearm is. It's also going to cover the NRS codes, which are the laws here in Nevada when carrying your pistol. Okay, so that's a lot of stuff that people don't know. They automatically assume. I saw it on Facebook. I saw it on Instagram. This is law. So, you know, I've gotten the specific laws that Metro wants to be covered in my class. I actually got them from Metro themselves.
Rico White 7:29
So you're, you're certified through Metro correct Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, so you're the real deal.
Sarah Fernandez 7:36
Yeah, I did everything I needed to do the right way. It took me a minute, because a lot of people gatekeep. I'm a knowledge seeker, and I like teaching people as well. People gatekeep on simplest things. So it took me a while. I do have to say, my counselor, Greg, why not? Was awesome when I tell you, this man worked with me and took me through everything I needed to go. I met a whole bunch of gentlemen in the class, ex military, ex law enforcement, and I can call any of them now, and if I have a question, they'll answer it for me.
Rico White 8:10
Okay, so you keep abreast of all of the laws and regulations regarding concealed carry, definitely,
Sarah Fernandez 8:17
because I don't want someone to go in my class and be like she said this. Well, no, that changed. So I have to keep myself updated. That way I can keep my students updated.
Rico White 8:25
Okay, let me ask you a question, what feedback have you received from some of the customers since you've started doing this kind of work, like, just people in general, like whether it's through Facebook, social media, you talking to other individuals, that kind of thing.
Sarah Fernandez 8:44
So feedback I've gotten is they definitely want to have a female teach them, because it's more comfortable for them. You go to what you know, some men, you know, they just like having a female around take the class regardless so, but, you know, I ask people all the time, especially when I'm teaching them something, was it boring that I put you to sleep? Did you learn something? Okay? And I get nothing but positive feedback. Okay? Because what I don't want, I don't want someone to come in my class and sit there and just be like, I gotta sit here for eight hours just I can get her to sign this paperwork. No, okay, I need to know, did you learn something that I put you to sleep? Were you proactive in the class? Because I am going to ask people to read.
Rico White 9:30
Oh, are you definitely, is that going to keep them awake? Correct?
Sarah Fernandez 9:34
Keeps them engaged? Okay, it's an eight hour class. And then when we went to, I have to say, when, when you go to the shooting range, of course, people are going to be nervous. You got to make sure that they're not especially because not that they haven't shot a gun, because now they're being watched. Now I need to see if you're proficient. I don't want to just say, Okay, here's your CCW, and you have no idea what you're doing.
Rico White 9:57
Okay? All right. I. Yeah, I heard you mention earlier. I think I heard you, and if I'm wrong, just correct me. But about safety protocols, so you emphasize firearm safety correct, including the handling. I heard you say that, what about the storage and transportation of the firearm? True?
Sarah Fernandez 10:16
That is very true. That is also taught in my class. That's taught what you can and can't have in your car, also in your home. When you have children, how it should be stored? You don't want a little kid get into it. You don't want your company to have access to your firearms, because it's in your house and now you have people in your home, you don't want them to be able to just pick it up.
Rico White 10:38
So in the class, do you actually have firearm operation, meaning instruction on how to operate a firearm. Correct? And do you use a real firearm, or do you use? What do you call it?
Sarah Fernandez 10:52
We have plastic guns, plastic guns. We have plastic guns and plastic bullets. But I do, for the sake of showing you exactly have a firearm that I do show you, because the plastic firearm is not going to show you what a real gun will Okay, and it's not going to move like that, because it's literally a plastic gun.
Rico White 11:12
Oh, okay, a plastic gun. Okay, so you would show them how to holster it,
Sarah Fernandez 11:18
not another thing I emphasize is getting the right gun. Don't get a gun because somebody said, who's cool? You don't want a cool gun. You want something that you can carry. Especially I talk about females a lot, because females are the ones that want to buy a gun. And they want this little, cute, purple gun. They want this heavy nine if you can't cock that gun, and you have carpal tunnel, you have arthritis, you need something, or you even have nails, you need something that you're going to be able to get your gun ready. Because what do you look like being chased by somebody, or whatever the case may be, and you can't function your gun because you thought it was a cute gun. Okay?
Rico White 11:57
Do you, as far as self defense is concerned, do you train on the principles of self defense or or the use of force laws or conflict resolution? I mean, do, is it like, like we walk away to see another day kind of thing, or is it more, if I pull this, I'm gonna shoot you, because I'm I'm defending myself.
Sarah Fernandez 12:21
Okay, so let me give you some examples. If you go somewhere and a guy wants to talk crazy to you, he's calling you all types of stuff, besides the child of God. Okay, are you gonna walk away? Are you gonna pull your gun out?
Rico White 12:34
Hopefully I would walk away. Walk away. Walk away.
Sarah Fernandez 12:37
Why put yourself in a predicament when you can just walk away if somebody's just talking crazy to you, so be it. My mother always used to say the words the wind takes them. Oh, that's hot the day you put hands on me, that's where we have a problem, but the words the wind takes them.
Rico White 12:53
Now, there's different situations that people encounter. So I mean, what would be considered a situation where I need to actually pull my weapon? Do you know what I mean? Like, I mean, they're talking crazy. However, you know, when that shouldn't
Sarah Fernandez 13:12
be your first pull, that shouldn't be your that should be your last resort. Okay, you're getting beat up by a 300 pound man, and he's on top of you, even to something. The thing is, never give up. It's between you and someone else. But if it's something that you can avoid, you're not making yourself, you know out there to be a victim either, but you have to protect yourself.
Rico White 13:36
Do you simulate real life situations in the class?
Sarah Fernandez 13:39
I do discuss different scenarios that have happened where people automatically think because they have a gun, and you say, Oh, I fear for my life. There's been incidents where people have used their guns and are in jail right now for murder. People don't think about the aftermath, even though that person broke into your house or that person attacked you now they're no longer here. Their family may sue you. Oh, okay, so you got to think of the aftermath of what are you going to be mentally ready to handle?
Rico White 14:12
That was my next thing. Do you prepare people mentally and practically,
Sarah Fernandez 14:16
you have to be if you're willing to buy a gun. You got to be mindful of what can happen. What are the ramifications after the fact? I tell people all the time, okay, you have a gun at home. Do you have a plan? What happens if somebody breaks in? What are you gonna do? Do you need to go to the safe and enter a combination? Yeah, keep in mind you got the adrenaline running. You might forget what it is. So do you have a plan? Because you bought a gun now you don't have a plan. No, you got to have a plan. You got to be able to protect you and yours,
Rico White 14:49
okay, okay, so most jurisdictions require individuals to obtain a concealed carry permit. That's what you do. You help people do that. You. AND and OR a license before carrying a concealed firearm, correct? So this often involves what, like, background
Sarah Fernandez 15:10
check, take the eight hour class, qualify at the range, qualified. Once you've done that, you submit your paperwork to Metro. Oh, I Oh, I still got to do that. You do have to submit your paperwork to Metro. Metro is going to do the fingerprinting, and at fingerprinting and everything. They're going to take your information, and then once you've paid a fee with them, they will take your paperwork, and then you wait. So they're
Rico White 15:31
going to run a background check. They're going to run a background is this background check local, or is it a national, federal background check federal? So if you have a, if you have like a felony, can you still you're not getting approved for your season? What if your felony was 20 years ago?
Sarah Fernandez 15:48
If you're, it depends on what your felony is. I'm not a lawyer. I can't give out legal advice, but what I can say is, if you know you have something that you did as a team, because everybody did something back, make sure it's fixed. Go to the courthouse if you're it's in another state. Contact them on the phone. Gotcha. Gotcha, just try to fix it. Because people automatically think, Oh, I had that felonious done. You might have never gotten your gun rights back. Oh, you got to work on getting your gun
Rico White 16:14
rights back. Oh, that's not an automatic No. Oh, okay.
Sarah Fernandez 16:18
And people don't know that, or they fail to follow through it, that they assume that because their their probation is done, or whatever the case is, that they can do whatever. That's not how that works.
Rico White 16:27
Okay and to apply for a CCW or concealed carry permit or concealed carry weapon. Is there a minimum age in the state of Nevada,
Sarah Fernandez 16:41
18? Oh,
Rico White 16:42
is it 18? Not 2118
Sarah Fernandez 16:44
you can. You can take my actually with my nonprofit females of color. To me, it doesn't matter the age, as long as I'm teaching you safety, okay, but different states have different age requirements, okay? And I know my certifications, I actually got them through the NRA. Oh, okay, like I said, I was the only female in the class, the only Puerto Rican woman in there. But like I said, Before, I love knowledge. I'm gonna learn whatever I can, and if I can teach it, I'm gonna teach I'm not a gatekeeper, okay? Because it was done to me so much so I refused to be one. Okay.
Rico White 17:25
All right, hang on one second. Let me just pivot here for a second. Some states require applicants to be residents of the state in which they apply for do you have to be a resident in order to no have a CCW in this state, nope. Get out of here.
Sarah Fernandez 17:43
We have non resident classes as well. Do you really?
Rico White 17:46
Yeah, okay, that is that's pretty hot.
Sarah Fernandez 17:51
And I get where you're saying that from like California, you have to be a resident to have a CCW. But there's ways around that, like what California got sued because it infringed on your Second Amendment right. Because if I have a CCW, I've gone through all the back checks. I've gone through everything. Why can't my gun rights be used there? Oh, but you would have to get a CCW from California. And there is a specific not sure right now, off the top of my head, but there is a law that you have to put on there in order for them to approve it. If you're not a resident, okay, and correction, you know what that? CCW, permit you must be 21 years of age. Oh, thank you. I appreciate that. I did have some people take the class just for knowledge sake, because they want it to know more. I give kudos to people that want to get more education on firearms, because if they're doing it at the age of 18, by the time they hit 21 they have all the knowledge they need. Okay?
Rico White 18:53
That makes sense. That makes sense. You are so knowledgeable. That's why, that's why you're here.
Sarah Fernandez 18:57
And the reason I said the 18 is because you you know for a fact that people will take their kids hunting absolutely so they have, yeah, duck hunting, whatever the case may be. So, but for the CCW, it is 21
Rico White 19:13
Okay, thank you. I appreciate that. Good looking. So, um, as far as disqualification factors, what? What are some of the disqualification factors, like, I know felony conviction, I'm just gonna rattle them off and you tell me if I would be disqualified. Domestic Violence, automatic.
Sarah Fernandez 19:34
That was quick. That's an automatic because you say violence,
Rico White 19:38
that's right, because they could flip the script on them. Okay, what about mental health
Sarah Fernandez 19:46
issues that could disqualify you?
Rico White 19:48
Oh, shoot. Okay, not that I have mental health issues. I said, Oh shoot.
Sarah Fernandez 19:53
I'm not a doctor, but I'm just kidding.
Rico White 19:55
Okay, so those kind of things will prevent you from obtaining and that's like all. Matic, no questions asked. Okay, um, some states have laws requiring individuals to notify law enforcement officers if they're carrying a concealed firearm during a traffic stop. Is that necessary? Here too? You should, you should,
Sarah Fernandez 20:14
or you have to, if they ask, because they're going to ask you to get a firearm in the car. Do you have some kind of weapon in the car? And you just say, Yeah, I do. I have a
Rico White 20:21
carry concealed as well. Okay, now if I don't have a carry, because I know that having my gun in a glove compartment is an extension of my house, so it's not considered concealed. It's not concealed, it's not concealed, okay? Or in what do you call that little thing in the middle center Council, the center console? Yes. So that's not concealed either or if I lay it, that's a little more dangerous. If it's just laying on the seat, it always looks like I
Sarah Fernandez 20:52
was just getting a gun safe for your car, really? Yeah, they have something going to your seat. And then what is that concealed? So what it not saying to conceal it. What I'm saying is, especially if you're going to have a firearm, and you're go to the grocery store, go in the bank, you can't take your firearm in the bank, so you need to leave it in your car. So they have safes. They have some safes that are on your headrest of your seats. I'm not sure how much those are, but there's also ones that you can get that go under your seat. Because one thing you don't want to leave it in your car. Your car gets broken into. This safe is actually like, you can wind the wire up under your seat, so even if they try to pull it out, it's like almost a bike chain. It's not going to go anywhere.
Rico White 21:31
Okay, you know we were talking before we actually came on air, and I can see why you were talking about the 18 year olds, because we were talking about military, because I'm still in the military and active duty, which you told me US military personnel are honorably discharged individuals aged 18 or above. You told me that they can apply for their license as long as they are Nevada driver's license holders. I mean, that's what we were talking about, so maybe you got that confused. So I appreciate that. I just and thank you for clearing that up. So okay, let me We already talked about the application process and for Is there a difference between a permit and and actual like CCW license, or is it all the same permit, like
Sarah Fernandez 22:28
your driver's license, where you get your driving permit first and then your driver's license? No, okay, once you take the CCW class and you have to pass your test with at least a 70% it ain't an automatic Wait.
Rico White 22:40
You can't curse on this show. But hell no,
Sarah Fernandez 22:46
you got to pass your test, and you got to pass your shooting. Oh, there's a shooting test to the qualification.
Rico White 22:51
Oh, Lord Hey, Jesus. So Okay, all right, let's go back to the first let's go back to the I got to pass with a 70, at least
Sarah Fernandez 22:58
70% but you know what? Honestly, that's why in the class, when you help someone, when you have your class members reading it, it registers better, right? So you may get one or two questions wrong, because I'm gonna make sure you got all the information that you need. I don't want you leaving my class like, I don't know why I came in here. She didn't teach me nothing. No, I want you to come out and be like, Man, I didn't know that. I learned that today. Okay, okay, so I want you to leave my class knowledgeable.
Rico White 23:27
Man, okay, so is it an open book?
Sarah Fernandez 23:32
There's no book. Is there's a slide show.
Rico White 23:35
Open slide show, open slide. Can we say, go back to slide like 14 and I can look
Sarah Fernandez 23:41
and this ain't a team effort either on the test. It's just like when you go to DMV and get your driver's license, you as an individual, have to take
Rico White 23:48
your test. So if you get caught asking your neighbor for
Sarah Fernandez 23:51
No, that's cheating. Oh, that's cheating. That's cheating. If you, if you're paying attention to the slides, everything is right in front of you. Oh Lord, it's just gotta register,
Rico White 24:02
yeah, but eight hours, I might not remember what I talked about in the first hour, in the seventh hour, that's
Sarah Fernandez 24:08
my class is fun, and you're gonna laugh about stuff, but you're gonna learn why you laughing and why you're reading. And you know, it's, I don't want anyone to leave my class and be like, I'm not doing that again, and it's good for five years.
Rico White 24:22
Okay, um, what was I gonna ask you? Oh, if I have a brother that has a CCW, okay, but I think it's going to be expiring. Okay, we do renewal classes, and how long is that? That's a four hour class. Okay, four hours. Okay, that'll work. That's better than eight and do
Sarah Fernandez 24:49
you, it really isn't a bad eight
Rico White 24:51
hours, I promise you. I don't know. Eight hours is eight hours. That's eight hours out of my life that I gotta chill sitting in front of a a. Or whatever you call those slides,
Sarah Fernandez 25:01
I really get it to me my time is more valuable than money, because I can't get it back. So I get it, but I make sure that that eight hours is worth it. Okay?
Rico White 25:13
So I understand, and I think you touched briefly on it, that the state of Nevada is a shell issue state regarding CCW permits. It means that the state is legally obligated to issue a concealed carry permit to qualified applicants, as long as they meet certain criterias, and those criteria which you were talking about before, where they're legal requirement if they meet the what qualifications, meaning that
Sarah Fernandez 25:42
passing the test qualification and the shooting range, residency, background checks, residency, you can be a non resident of Nevada and get your CCW, okay, okay, all right. There's several states where you can do that too as well. Okay, but you also got to remember, Nevada is an open carry state, right?
Rico White 26:00
So why that? That's a, that's a, this is going to bring me to this. Why should I go get my CCW? If I can just put it on my hip and call it a night and have my my sweater or my shirt over the gun, because you're trying to conceal it now. Oh, so I have to leave it a little bit exposed, open and carry so I got to have it all the way it's really so I've seen people with it just on the edge of the gun, like they really can't you can, you know, it's a
Sarah Fernandez 26:27
gun there. So remember earlier when I said about concealing so me, as a girl, I wear my jeans, I have a tight shirt, and I have my gun, and you can see the imprint that's not concealing, that's not concealing your weapon. So you want to make sure, if you're concealing big T shirt a sweater, they have shirts with holsters. Now, no way they have shorts with holsters. No way in between the legs, on the side of the legs. Oh, so
Rico White 26:54
I don't know. How would I if I had that? How would I get to my gun? I got to go inside my pants and then grab it out.
Sarah Fernandez 27:00
That's for girls. Oh, so when they wear dresses and skirts, but if you want to go in your pants and you want to wear them shorts,
Rico White 27:08
I thought it was for the guys or something, I know, um, due process. So if my application is turned down, do I have any recourse? Definitely.
Sarah Fernandez 27:24
You want to inquire on why it wasn't and then fix the issue. Okay, yeah, like I said, a lot of people don't understand these rights that we have. It's not like if we don't use them, we lose them. But you want to be able to take advantage of them.
Rico White 27:40
Okay, okay, all right, um, tell me why I should take this class again. Is there any is it like, like, why should I pay my money and come with Sarah,
Sarah Fernandez 27:57
and it's Fernandez. You? Should come take my class, because you need your CCW, and I think you will actually learn some stuff that most people who carry a gun don't know.
Rico White 28:13
Okay, okay, that sounds good. That sounds good.
Sarah Fernandez 28:18
And I took the NRA course due to the fact that the NRA covers basically all the states. Oh, okay, that's why I can go now and go and apply for Utah, Arizona. Okay, and, you know, I got a couple things against me. I'm a woman. I'm Latina, Latina, you know, I said, you know, I'm Puerto Rican, so us women have more against us than men. Do you guys get away with more stuff than we can. So we got to come up too. I'm gonna do whatever it takes. I'm gonna get ahead. You know, I told you earlier, when you're in a situation that you have that 300 pound person on, you never give up. Okay.
Rico White 29:04
Well, you know what, we are coming to the close of our show, but I do appreciate the heck out of you. You. You were phenomenal. We would love to have you back, and I'm your host. Rico white on, change the narrative, and we do change the narrative. So I, like I said, I just want you to know that we appreciate you.
Sarah Fernandez 29:27
Thank you. I appreciate you for having me on here. Oh, well,
Rico White 29:30
you got it all right. That's gonna wrap this up. We will be back again. Next next show, same bat channel, same bat time. Alrighty. Thank you. You.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai