LOCKED & LOADED: Alabama women on track to set record for pistol permits in 2016

Annie, get your gun. Because Janie’s already got one.

Jefferson County is on track to issue almost 63% more pistol permits to women this year than last year. In 2015, the county issued 13,747 pistol permits to women, and they have already issued more than 4,000 this year. If that volume stays consistent for the rest of the year, Jefferson County will issue over 22,000 permits to women in 2016.

In a world that sees more mass shootings than there are days of the year, many women are taking their safety literally into their own hands. Last year saw over 350 mass shootings (where four or more people are killed or wounded) in the United States, and there have been over 40 mass shootings already in 2016.

In 2013, five girls were held at gunpoint at Chelsea Middle School in Chelsea, Alabama. This moment ignited a fire in Beth Alcazar.

“That was my daughter’s school. That’s only six miles from our home,” she explained. “I decided at that point that it wasn’t enough that we had a gun in our home, I needed to learn everything I could about it.”

Alcazar and other women across the state have started taking firearms training from people like Deputy Chief Danny Hallmark of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Hallmark teaches a free training course and he says that 80 percent of the students are women.

“It’s a trend I love and one that I like to see and have seen in the classroom during citizen handgun,” Hallmark said. “I think that taking this class makes them a more knowledgeable gun owner. When they leave here, they are more comfortable gun owner, for sure.”

Hallmark’s course is taught by former and current SWAT team members. Classes include both classroom instruction, which includes learning about applicable gun laws, and practical training on the shooting range.

Gun laws are a popular and divisive topic in American politics right now. Earlier this year, President Obama unveiled an executive order that his administration hopes will cut down on the number of mass shootings and other gun violence in the country.

Alabama lawmakers are also contributing to the debate. The legislature has repeatedly worked to pass a bill allowing handgun owners to carry loaded handguns in their cars without a permit. And just a few weeks ago, Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange announced that concealed carry permit holders did not have to undergo additional background checks when purchasing more guns.

Whatever happens on the lawmaking side, women like Beth Alcazar recognize the crucial role that guns now play in our lives.

“It’s that feeling that this could be training for real life,” she said. “It could be something that I really need to know how to do. There’s a lot of responsibility to it and there’s a lot of seriousness to it as well.”