On Thursday evening from 5-9 p.m., the company Legal Heat and Chico’s Sportsman’s Warehouse hosted a free women’s concealed carry permit class.

The class, rated highly online and described as informative, is a part of the process to obtain a carrying concealed weapons permit that is allowed in more than 37 states.

“This ladies’ CCW permit class is held in conjunction with our partner store Sportsman’s Warehouse, Chico, CA,” Legal Heat said on their website.

On the day of the class, 14 of the 40 online sign-ups actually attended the class.

“The state of California requires that you take classes where you learn gun safety, the laws, and etc. on the proper use of firearms before they issue you a permit to actually carry a gun on your person,” chief instructor Ted Lidie explained. Lidie is the monthly instructor from Northern Firearms Instruction that was hired by Legal Heat to teach the class.

The process of receiving the CCW permit is to take eight hours of a class where you learn basic pistol safety, types of pistols, how to load/unload the guns, transportation of firearms, storage within a home with a child and ensuring participants understand the responsibility of bearing firearms. After attending the classes, the final qualification in the process is to go to a shooting range and demonstrate to the instructor that the student has mastered the use of a firearm.

“This is a community class,” Lidie said. “We realized that women are more reluctant to get involved sometimes because socially, the use of firearms seems more like a man thing. Sportsman’s Warehouse wanted to bring in women every month and host a class for four hours for free within the field of gun safety.”

At the end of every class, the women would receive a certificate stating they completed four hours of training in case they would want to pursue a CCW permit.

“It’s a social experience as well. Ladies will be around other people who are like-minded…who are into guns, and share the types of guns they shoot and where they shoot.”

Lidie added that Sportsman’s Warehouse hosting these classes is also a good way to stir up business for the company.

In the class, Lidie taught the three most important rules involved in handling guns safely:

• Always keep your muzzle pointed in a safe direction (away from people)

• Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot

• Always keep firearms unloaded unless they are in use

“This is a good way for me to learn and understand how to use my gun, especially with everything that is going on,” Marlo Gannon, an attendee of the class explained.

Lidie thinks it is crucial for college students to seek out education on gun safety.

The class is not only free, it also provides the guns for attendees to learn on so it’s ideal for beginners and people that don’t know much about guns.

“It’s a good place to come and learn for free in a safe space about something we have seen our whole lives,” Lidie said.

The next class will take place on Jan. 9 from 4-8 p.m. at the Sportsman’s Warehouse.

Angelina Mendez can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_angie on Twitter.