A major mass shooting incident like the one seen in Parkland, Florida, in February is enough to shake a lot of people up, but it inspires many to take action. As it turns out, women are the fastest growing group in terms of picking up guns and learning how to use them.

According to the National Carry Academy which trains people in the use of firearms, women earning their concealed carry licenses are up 24 percent since the Parkland shooting. This marks the largest jump ever since July/August of 2016.

According to the NCA, men typically earn 66 percent of the permits issued, but women are now making up half.

NCA Co-Founder Nick Dahlberg said in a statement that there is typically an uptick of women when a mass shooting happens as “these events sometimes shake people’s world views in terms of thinking they will be safe, or that others will protect them.”

However, the NCA notes that there are additional reasons as to the uptick of women looking to arm themselves.

“The NCA speculates women are enrolling at a higher rate for many additional reasons: Women now realize it’s finally time to arm themselves; their husbands urge them to carry a weapon; and many more women are simply scared of being attacked these days,” said the NCA in a statement.

This increase in the interest in firearms isn’t surprising given the national conversation about firearms over the last few months. The NRA has also seen record breaking numbers in terms of interest and donations. Between the obvious fact that being armed gives you a better chance at defending yourself and the fact that there are very loud and powerful entities trying to strip that ability to defend yourself from you, gun courses are sure to see upticks.

Women especially have every reason to want to own a gun, as a firearm levels the playing field against anyone who may wish to do them or their family members harm. With children having recently been put into the cross hairs, many women would likely be able to shoot back in order to defend their kids.

And more power to them. Guns are a girl’s best friend.