Sometimes it is impossible to understand how a small thing, like a discount on a firearm for a police officer, can impact our world.

Consider a man recently married and struggling to support his young family as a security guard. To attend the police academy, he joins the reserve program at the sheriff’s department. As a condition of his appointment as a deputy, the man must provide all of his own uniforms and equipment, including his duty weapon. For somebody on a tight budget, the cost is nearly insurmountable.

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The man is told that GLOCK offers a discount to public safety employees, including those attending the academy. For a young husband just barely scraping by, any discount is a good one. The GLOCK Blue Label program not only offered him a substantial discount, but also gave him the three magazines he needed for uniform duties.

Eventually, that young man would complete the academy and go on to a full-time police career. That same man would later become a trainer and supervisor, bringing up a new generation of peace officers. He would get violent criminals off the street, negotiate armed suspects out of barricaded homes and quietly be credited with saving the lives of a mother and her child. All because GLOCK made it possible for that young man to put a gun in his holster.

The story is true. I know because I lived it. At a time when I rarely had more than a couple of dimes in my pocket, the GLOCK Blue Label program provided me with a way to buy my first duty pistol and attend the Fulton County Public Safety Training Center in Atlanta, Georgia. I often wonder how many people have been positively affected by GLOCK’s decision to offer a special discount program for members of the military and public safety. Without the program, I would not have been able to attend the academy that year. Who knows how differently things could have turned out for all of the people I encountered during my police career.

Public Safety Benefits

Many people have heard that GLOCK offers a discount program for law enforcement officers. Fewer, though, realize the Blue Label program is much larger than that. First responders such as firefighters and paramedics also qualify for the same discounts. So do members of the military, court judges and others, including:

• current and retired sworn law enforcement officers
• firefighters (including volunteer), paramedics, EMTs
• military personnel including retired, reservists and National Guard
• corrections, probation and parole officers
•  court judges
• prosecutors including district attorneys and their deputies
• law enforcement academy cadets
• and licensed security companies

Under the terms of the Blue Label program, the purchaser must prove his or her eligibility through an official letter or with department-issued photo ID. Up to two GLOCK firearms may be purchased each year in this program. This would allow a police officer to purchase both a duty gun and a backup in a single year.

GLOCK offers the Blue Label program through a select number of dealers. To find the participating dealer closest to you, go to us.glock.com/dealer-locator and select the “LE Dealers” tab. Additionally, GLOCK can sell the guns directly to eligible purchasers should an authorized law enforcement dealer not be conveniently located.

Pricing discounts vary depending on the model. Typically, you can expect to save up to $100 on a new pistol purchase. As the guns come with three magazines instead of the normal two, the total savings is even more substantial.

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It has now been many years since I walked out of the local police gear shop with my brand-new G19. That pistol rode in my duty holster at the sheriff’s department, and later rode backup to my issued G17 when I went to work for a police department. It was carried off-duty and in undercover roles. More than once, it helped ensure I came home to my family. It launched an LE career, allowed me to help people in tough circumstances and helps keep my family safe today.

For more information, please visit US.Glock.com.

This article was published in the GLOCK AUTOPISTOLS 2016 magazine. To see the rest of the issue, please visit Personaldefenseworld.com.