Pocono News Section

Eyewitness News Special: Girls With Guns

Eyewitness News Special: Girls With Guns - Monday, March 16, 2009 at 8:41PM EST

East Stroudsburg - Over the past several months some Pocono crimes have sparked an increase in applications for permits to carry weapons. Many of the new applicants are women but these women aren't just buying guns for self defense. They are using them to add a little "bang" to their ladies night out.
Janet Giannolla and her daughter Jodi Tettemer have a girl's night about once a month. And this time they decided to learn how to lock and load.

Janet Giannolla said, "It was something to do. Something other than going to the bar, sitting and eating."

They checked out ladies night at the Pocono Pistol Club in Stroudsburg. Jere Dunkelberger, the owner of the Pocono Pistol Club, said, "We term it sort of Handgun 101 if you want to say."

Barbara Marshall teaches the course and can have twelve women at a time. The classes are usually booked two months in advance. "It is a growing sport," she says.

Many ladies want to learn how to protect themselves. "In many homes the woman is the one who makes the decision on whether or not guns are going to be in the house," she added.

While many women take this class for self defense. Others say they do it just for the sport of it. Marshall said, "Women can compete on an equal level as men in this sport."

The classroom session starts with rule number one, treat every firearm as if it were loaded. Tettemer said, "The course was very helpful. Otherwise we probably would have been a little bit insecure just coming here and going right into it."

Norm Lattig, the Range Master, said, "We teach sight alignment. Trigger squeeze. Breath control."

Giannolla says, "It's exhilirating. It gets your heart racing."

Tettemer adds, "It gives me power. I feel like I can handle my own. you know?"

The power to handle herself in a scary situation or the power to stand out in a new sport. And teachers here say you can get them both. Tettemer told us, "We enjoyed ourselves and i think it's going to be a regular thing."

Giannolla added, "It's just an experience you gotta try."

The ladies night course costs $40s. It includes the classroom session, pistol rental, bullets, targets and firing range instruction. For more information call 570-424-2940 or visit .