KERSHAW COUNTY, SC (WIS) -
"I'm looking on the news and it's more things that's happening that people are having to protect themselves."
Angel Anderson wants to make sure she can protect herself and her family if someone tries to target them as a potential victim.
"More and more is happening that requires me to carry a gun," she said.
Anderson was one of four women taking Ed Hines' Concealed Weapons Permit training last week in Kershaw County. Although they signed up for the class weeks ago, five days before the class, the shooting at the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado occurred.
The classroom and range training are required by SLED for people who apply for a concealed weapons permit. Two were teachers, one, a nurse. Another was a WISTV.com journalist.
Cindy Keese took the class with her mother. She wants to be able to protect herself and her husband, who suffers from brain cancer.
"Instead of him being my knight in shining armor, the situation might arise where I would have to protect him," said Keese. "So I want to be more familiar with a handgun in case I'd have to use one."
"When seconds count, the police are only minutes away," said Hines, who's also a police officer. "The police do an outstanding job. But when somebody's right there and in your face and has a problem, you have to take care of yourself ultimately."
Not only do students learn gun safety and shooting techniques, they also learn the state law regarding self-defense and how to interpret it.
"If you're going through this class and you're getting this education, I can trust you to look out for me, and look out for yourself and for the safety of others," said Anderson.
Hines discussed various situations regarding people using guns to defend themselves and whether they followed the law.
"You want to use the least amount of force you can to resolve the confrontation," said Hines.
"People are crazy," said Keese. "They're doing crazy things every day. It's unfortunate, but it's the reality."
But Hines doesn't think a civilian with a concealed weapon could have stopped the shooting at the theater in Aurora, Colorado.
"We know now that the shooter had ballistic armor on, so any shots that would have been taken were pretty unlikely to hit a vital organ," said Hines. "And you had a lot of secondary targets. The 4th rule is ‘know your target and what's around it.' You don't want to be hitting an innocent civilian."
"That's really a dangerous situation for a civilian to get involved in," said Hines. "Best bet there, you've got a gun to protect you and your family. Use it to escape the situation."
But Hines said an armed civilian might have been able to stop shootings at Virginia Tech, Columbine, or Trolley Square Mall in Salt Lake City.
"The shooters were not in a dark crowded theater, but moved about relatively open areas and were separated from the innocents," said Hines. "In those cases, and many others, an armed citizen could have made the difference."
Once SLED approves the permit applications, there will be four more women carrying concealed weapons. Everyone passed the written exam and shooting qualification.
But potential criminals don't know what women are packing heat.
"Don't target me," warned Anderson. "Don't make me a victim, because I'll have to make you a victim."
Copyright 2012 WIS. All rights reserved.
Instructor Ed Hines works with women on shooting range
