ORANGE PARK, Fla. – A new gun range in town is helping women protect themselves. The women Channel 4 spoke with Thursday night at Basics Range and Gun in Orange Park said they are taking advantage of "ladies night" at the new range.
Ronekia Thomas takes classes at Basic Range and Gun with her husband. She told Channel 4 Thursday that she's taking the classes in order to protect her family.
"There's too much going on now, just entirely too much," said Ronekia Thomas. "Protecting my family, my children."
Michael Thomas is Ronekia Thomas' husband. The classes are something that is helping put his mind at ease -- knowing his wife could protect their family, if he wasn't around.
"I feel it's a great idea because I can't be home all the time and I want my wife to be able to take care of my family," said Michael Thomas.
The owner of Basic Range and Gun, Franklin Dickinson, told Channel 4 that Thursday is one of their busiest nights, and for good reason.
"We've got so many guns in the population right now and so many women buying guns, we felt women needed to be trained on how to shoot. They needed to know the pluses and minuses of owning a gun," said Dickinson.
The range also offers children's gun safety classes, including courses on using pistols, rifles and Mace.