The Opp Police Department hopes to help women become more familiar with firearms and safety laws through a free firearm class.

The class, which will be offered on April 12, will be for women only.

“The reason why we do this is because in this day and time, it’s a lot more dangerous and we want women to be able to defend themselves,” Kevin Chance, OPD assistant police chief , said.

“We’ve also had a lot of ladies within the community come to us and say they don’t feel comfortable carrying a firearm because they’re not familiar with the weapon.”

The class will include firearms safety, firearms manipulation, reloading, stance, malfunction clearing, natural point of aim and use of force. It also will review Alabama’s self-defense laws.

For women who feel apprehensive about the class, Chance says not to worry.

“The class is not a hard class. We take the time to go through and explain everything as well as assisting them so that they become comfortable with their firearm.”

Chance says in the past, women have left the class feeling more confident in shooting.

“A lot of the times they leave our class feeling happy and more confident in their ability to protect themselves.”

For those that are looking to participate, there are a few requirements.

“This class is a woman’s only class and we do require that you bring your own firearm with 50 rounds of ammunition,” Chance said.

“You also must have a valid pistol permit and that is only for the fact that you can take necessary steps to protect yourself once you are familiar with your weapon.”

All students will attend a classroom portion before moving out onto the range and must sign a liability waiver form prior to range evaluation.

To find out more information about the class and sign up, contact Regina Thompson at 334-493-4511.