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More and more Oklahomans are carrying concealed weapons these days.
In fact, there are so many new requests the state Bureau of Investigation can barely keep up. Last year, there was a 45-percent increase in new licenses -- the largest jump since the concealed carry law went into effect.
It is legal in the State of Oklahoma to carry a handgun in your purse on your belt if you have a license. It's been that way for more than a decade. Some laws have made it easier.
The governor signed legislation expanding gun rights in 2006. Some of the fees and age requirements have also made it easier for more people to get concealed licenses.
But, in talking to instructors and those who carry, those really aren't the reasons driving people to the shooting range.
Reverend Steve Whitaker has carried a gun more than a decade. He runs a mission for the homeless, sometimes late at night. It is one reason he is a preacher packing heat.
"I know that it surprises people," he says. "I have people ask me all the time."
Meanwhile, Winona, a stay-at-home mother of three learned to shoot in 2005. She now holds a license and is rarely without the holster on her hip.
"I sleep a lot easier knowing I can take care of myself."
And, a gun shop owner for years, Becky Medlock just got her license six months ago.
"It just kind of went hand in hand with something, that I should have one."
Three people from different walks of life and part of a growing number of your friends, co-workers, and neighbors carrying guns almost everywhere. The increase doesn't surprise shooting instructor Marshall Luton. His classes at the Defensive Shooting Academy of Tulsa are now booked solid months in advance.
"We've had people that have never been attacked before starting to become more aware of their surroundings and they realize that they need to be prepared," Luton says. "They don't get to choose when. The bad guys do."
Luton, who is also a full-time police officer, says fear over crime is driving new students to his shooting classes. This despite the reality that the number rapes, robberies and assaults have actually fallen since 2005.
"I don't know about the crime," says Winona. "What I do know is that I can take care of myself and I'm here to protect myself. That's my job. That's the least I can do for my kids."
Then there is the question of protecting others, even strangers.
"It's not just about where you shop, it's not just about where you worship or where you live, its happening everywhere right now," says Brian Hill with the U.S. Shooting Academy.
In just the last year, a handful of mass-shootings unfolded beyond Oklahoma's borders, in communities not unlike Tulsa.
"Without saying that people are arming up, going vigilante. They're not doing that. But, they're certainly preparing and preparing much more effectively than they have in the past to combat today's threats."
And then, there is the role politics may play. Remember Becky, the gun shop owner? She says there is a new sense of urgency to get a concealed handgun license before a new administration takes over in November.
"We hear all kinds of stuff in the store - everyone has an opinion and they're always willing to share it," she says. "That's kind of the theory everybody is going off of in trying to get that established before any new laws come into play."
More than 61-thousand Oklahomans have concealed handgun licenses. That's a fraction of the state's population, but the number is rising every day.
"I think that we're probably headed to a more armed society," Whitaker says. "It's been said, this is awful prosaic, that an armed society is a polite society."
There are more women, but that doesn't account for the total increase. Each person kind enough to go on camera shared a lot of different reasons. All say they hope they never have to use a gun. Many recommend anyone considering a license look into additional training on how to use that weapon in serious situations.
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