WALB.com News, Weather and Sports for Albany, Valdosta and Thomasville. Leading the way for South Georgia. | Georgians arm themselves
Member Center:
By Jennifer Emert - bio | email
ALBANY, GA (WALB) – With so many armed robberies it's no surprise south Georgians are arming themselves in staggering numbers.
Dougherty and Lee County probate courts have already had more applications for conceal carry permits in ten months this year than all of last year. Dougherty County has had 1,374 applications for conceal carry permits and Lee County has had more than 667 applications.
Thursday night the Lee County Sheriff's office will hold a gun safety workshop for women, because demand in the community has been so high.
At Backwoods Outdoors gun sales have yet to slow down.
"Probably running close to three thousand or so guns since the first of the year I would say," said Austin Albright, Backwoods Outdoors Salesman.
Seventy-five percent of the sales have been handguns. Employees say those coming in are worried about their personal safety and the armed robbery last night in Albany is why.
"It was a matter of time before something like that happened, you'd be surprised by the people who do have fire arms and do have fire arms permits," said Albright.
The demand for personal protecting is so high among women in Lee County the Sheriff's Office is holding a gun safety class this week to teach both the mechanics and the law behind owning a gun.
"We plan on doing another one, if the demand's high enough I plan on doing another one in December," said Lee County Sheriff Reggie Rachals.
While he says the community has the right to protect itself, citizens should also know the law.
"You've got to feel like you are threatened just like the incident in Albany, that's a good example. They felt threatened and they took care of, they had to take care of themselves," said Rachals.
At Backwoods Outdoors salesmen say that's what's brining people into the store, the threat that what happened on Cromartie Beach Drive could happen to them.
"It could be them next and they know that," said Albright. In addition to the gun safety class the Lee County Sheriff's Office is also considering hold a personal safety class for women to teach them other safety tips.
For more information about the classes you can long onto the Sheriff's Office's website. In Dougherty County, the cost of a conceal carry permit is $55.00 plus a $5.00 fingerprinting fee at the Sheriff's Office.
*These links take you away from WALB. WALB has no control of the content of these sites.
©2009 WALB News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Feedback
Comments Terms of Use: We welcome your participation in our community. Please keep your comments civil and on point. Notify us of any inappropriate comments by clicking the “Mark as Offensive” link. You must be at least 13 years of age to post comments. By submitting a comment, you agree to these
Terms of Service
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Login or register See all comments |
___________
gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls at home.
Check out a business or charity, or file a complaint.
operates the world's largest product testing and research lab.
works to prevent fraud, deception, and unfair business practices in the marketplace.
