Perry Police Department offers firearm safety classes for senior citizens and women 

PERRY — The Perry Police Department will host senior citizens firearm safety class on April 11 and a women’s class on April 12. 

Senior Citizens over 60 are eligible to sign up and the women’s class is for women ages 60 or younger. 

Participants must sign a waiver, pass a background check, and be a Houston County resident. The classes are $30 and participants must provide their own handgun, ammo and ear protection.  

Community Relations Officer Marcus Camps said the classes are offered to provide a good understanding of how to use a firearm safely. 

“The classes are going to discuss knowledge of basic safety training and things such as loading the firearm, unloading a firearm, understanding how to make a firearm safe and including in the firing of their handguns,” he said. “I know a lot of people are passionate about owning firearms and using them to keep themselves and their families safe as they don’t always get an opportunity to have a course and be instructed with firearms and training officers, so we just wanted to make that available to the public, community and members of the county as well.” 

Camps said the classes will also discuss information regarding Georgia law, possession and concealment of a firearm, and the legal justifications for using deadly force in Georgia. 

According to Camps, senior citizens and women are the two demographics that have requested and have attended firearm safety classes the most.  

“These are the two demographics that have heavily and continuously been supporting these types of classes, that request them and come out to them full force,” he said.  “So as long as they continue to request them and want to participate in them, we’re definitely going to offer them.”

For people wanting to attend a firearm safety class for the first time, it can come with some challenges. Camps mentioned not knowing how to use a firearm and safety concerns from new gun owners.

“We like to help alleviate that anxiety and let them know that firearms manufacturers and the way they manufacture a lot of these guns look at it, and these are the safety measures that they put in to make sure that doesn’t happen.” 

Classes are held at the Perry Police Department and Camps said this gives the participants better assurance of their being in a safe environment. 

“We do our best to work with anybody who wants to attend our classes if they don’t have access to be able to come to the police department,” he said.  

Being a Community Relations Officer, Camps said he also tried to coordinate transportation to the class and the range, as well as scheduling around other responsibilities. This set of classes is scheduled for a Friday and Saturday.

“We just try to take any action we can to make it easily accessible and available frequently throughout the year, for everybody to be able to attend,” he said.

Camps said the overall goal of the firearm safety classes is to establish and create responsible gun owners who are knowledgeable about the firearms they carry or any that they come in contact with, while also increasing public safety overall in Perry and Houston County. 

“Firearms are an absolute right that every American has and we wanna make sure the people have the freedom and confidence to exercise that right and do it in the safest way possible,” he said. “At the end of the program, if each and every individual has more knowledge about their firearm they carry, the laws in accordance with how they’re carried and how they use it, and overall feel more comfortable and confident in their ability to protect themselves and their loved ones, I believe that that’s a great marker in our measurement at the end of every class.”

Camps mentioned there will be more firearm safety classes by the Perry Police Department in the future. Those interested must submit their application in person to the Perry Police Department.  

For more information, go to https://perryrec.recdesk.com/Community/Program