Keep Geneva County a pro–Second Amendment county while emphasizing safety and responsibility.
Continue and expand the firearms and “when to shoot / when not to shoot” classes started under Sheriff Tony Helms.
Offer regular public training on:
Provide church and house-of-worship security training for congregations who choose to have armed protection.
Make the Sheriff’s Office a trusted resource for law-abiding gun owners, not an obstacle.
Hold semi-monthly “When You Can and Can’t Shoot” classes, taught with local prosecutors and certified instructors.
Use substations, community centers, and churches across both east, central, and west Geneva County so people don’t always have to drive to the main office.
Partner with local gun ranges and instructors to host safety and marksmanship days, supporting, not competing with, private trainers.
Offer evening and Saturday sessions so working families can attend.
Seek grants and local sponsorships to provide free or low-cost gun locks and safes at safe-storage events.
Build clear, written policies and training for deputies so lawful gun owners who act within Alabama law are treated fairly and professionally after a defensive incident.
Protects rights and lives at the same time, law-abiding citizens stay armed and trained, while kids and uninvolved bystanders are safer.
Reduces accidental shootings and unsafe storage, especially in homes with children and teens.
Creates better-informed gun owners who understand when deadly force is justified and when it is not, reducing tragic mistakes and legal confusion.
Strengthens trust between citizens and the Sheriff’s Office, because people see their Sheriff as a partner in self-defense, not an enemy of it.
Makes Geneva County a model pro-gun county, showing the rest of Alabama that you can strongly support the Second Amendment and still lead the way on training, safety, and responsibility.
Schell, T. L., et al. “State-Level Estimates of Household Firearm Ownership.” RAND Corporation (Gun Policy in America initiative), 2020.
Used for the estimate that roughly half of Alabama households own at least one firearm, based on RAND’s state-level ownership models. RAND Corporation+1
“For Most U.S. Gun Owners, Protection Is the Main Reason They Own a Gun,” Pew Research Center, Aug. 16, 2023.
Shows that about 72% of U.S. gun owners say protection is a major reason they own a firearm. Pew Research Center
“How the Gun Ownership Rate in Alabama Compares to Other States,” Black Chronicle / 24/7 Wall St., June 24, 2023.
Cites RAND’s estimate that about 52.8% of Alabama households own a gun, placing Alabama among the highest-ownership states. Black Chronicle
Key Facts About Americans and Guns,” Pew Research Center, July 24, 2024.
Provides updated numbers on what share of adults own guns, live in gun households, and how many say guns make them feel safer (about 81% of gun owners). Pew Research Center+1
National Academies / Institute of Medicine – Defensive Gun Use
Goldstick, J. E., et al. “Current Epidemiological Trends in Firearm Mortality in the United States.” (Open-access article via PMC, 2021.)
Analyzes national firearm deaths from 1999–2018 and shows that unintentional firearm death rates declined to about 0.15 deaths per 100,000 by the late 2010s (roughly half the earlier rate). PMC
National Survey on Safe Storage
These are the sources behind the point that brief education plus providing locks/safes is one of the more promising ways to improve safe storage.
GAO Report on Safe Firearm Storage Programs
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