Women are carrying guns at a record rate, said the National Carry Academy citing research based on concealed carry permits issued since February’s high school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
The academy said women taking its concealed carry courses jumped 24 percent since the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, the largest increase over 60 days for the course since July-August 2016.
Half of the academy's conceal carry permits issued are now to women, while before men comprised 66 percent of permits granted. The overall number of permits issued since the shooting has increased about 120 percent, the academy said.
Nikolas Cruz stands accused of taking a semi-automatic rifle to his former Florida high school and opening fire on Feb. 14, killing 17 people, mostly students, and injuring more than a half dozen others before he was arrested, NBC News reported. He remains in jail and could face the death penalty.
"There always seems to be an uptick in the number of women getting their concealed carry permits when active shooting incidents or gun control is being discussed," said Nick Dahlberg, co-founder of the academy.
"These events sometimes shake people's world views in terms of thinking they will be safe, or that others will protect them"
"In general, women's pass rates for our courses are on par with men at 99 percent," Dahlberg said. "Generally, women are a little better students than men, because sometimes, men's egos get in the way when you talk about firearms, and they don't pay as close attention to the instruction."
The National Carry Academy said it has certified more than 100,000 Americans since 2012.
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