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A lot of people I've educated on snakes aren't as afraid once they have a better understanding of snakes. For whatever reason people think snakes will attack unprovoked if it sees them which is simply not true and once that is established many friends who had a fear of snakes are curious to know more about snakes. In general people are highly afraid of what they don't understand and can't comprehend. Educating the public in a positive approach without trying to make people uncomfortable is necessary to get the majority to understand venomous snakes are not programmed to bite people any chance they get.
Respecting what a venomous snake is capable of and being afraid of it are two different things. A free handler cannot be afraid of the individual snake he or she is holding. It takes a lot of time, patients and understanding of the venomous snake that is to be free handled. Not all venomous snakes have the same temperament.
Free handling is not throwing precaution into the wind. There are a lot of precaution factors that play a role in free handling. Not every venomous snake can be free handled and the ones that can't that are highly irritable and cranky give warning signs that they just want to be left alone. I've taken many of the recommended precautions with gloves, hook large sized cage etc. Keeping venomous is not as scary as it sounds and should be done by those who have a true passion and have done their homework.
There are risks with a lot of recreational activities that it only takes one time you can die or get seriously injured and they are all legal.
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