by Hanna Singh
The Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office recently held a Women’s Firearm Safety Course and Self Defense Class, offering local women the opportunity to learn about gun safety, practice handgun use in a controlled setting, and learn valuable self defense skills.
The course provided hands-on training at the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office gun range, led by skilled and knowledgeable instructors.
Adult women of any age were invited to come learn about handgun safety and have the opportunity to use one. Participants were guided through proper handling, aiming, and firing techniques and taught about responsible gun use and caution. They also learned about self defense and the importance of protecting oneself. The class allowed the ladies to build confidence and leave with a better understanding of firearm safety and self defense..
Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Landon Hunt highlighted the importance of the program.
“We believe the women’s self-defense classes are a great way for our office to give back to the community. We have several firearms instructors who are very knowledgeable and great teachers,” Hunt said. “We’re glad to be able to pass that knowledge along to help women learn how to better protect themselves. A huge thanks to our firearms instructors for making this possible. We will have another firearms class as well as a women’s self-defense class coming up soon.”
The event saw a strong turnout, with women of all experience levels attending. Some attendees had prior experience with firearms, while others were handling a gun for the first time. Regardless of their background, each woman was able to take something away from the opportunity. .
Patsy Candler, one of the participants, expressed her appreciation for the event and the guidance from the sheriff’s office.
“I appreciate Mr. John Barber and the Lincoln Parish officers who had a hand in putting the gun safety class for women together,” Candler said. “It was hands-on and very informative. They have gone above and beyond the call of duty to show that they care about safety in our parish.”
Another participant, Shelly Goff, shared her thoughts on taking another self defense class.
“I did one probably 20 years ago, and I’ve been around guns most of my life, but I’ve never actually spent a lot of time learning about it. I thought it would be a good thing. We have firearms in our home. We need to learn how to use them and use them safely,” Goff said. “I thought the experience was really good. The sheriff’s department and the instructors explained things very well. They were cautious and safety-minded but still allowed us to experience using the weapon we had. We got to learn how to fire, how to use one, and be safe with it.”
The class serves to teach the importance of firearm safety and self-defense knowledge, giving women valuable skills that could help them protect themselves and their families. The Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office plans to continue offering similar opportunities, with more firearm safety courses and women’s self-defense classes scheduled for the near future.
