Riding Shotgun With Charlie

#243

Tonya Franklin

Back in 2020, Tonya reached out to me. She was very involved with her local politics and wanted to talk about how the news on the "pandemic" was nonsense. She's been in the medical field and may have been helping folks get a medical exemption to the vaccine. She's also a gun instructor who offers NRA and USCCA courses as well as medical courses, which is her background. Growing up in Illinois, I was taking several trips to visit family and friends. On a recent trip, I was able to make plans with Tonya and catch up with her.

Firearms weren't really her thing for some time. Her family moved from Florida to Illinois for her husband's career as a pilot. Learning about the FOID (Firearm Owners Identification Card), she thought it was ridiculous.But since there were firearms in the home and it was required by the state, she got it. When you make her do something, she says she's going to do it all the way. So, her new thing was the Second Amendment. She took several courses as a newbie, and noticed she was surrounded by males.

Over the years, Tonya took a number of courses to learn all the fundamentals. The first female instructor she had was none other than Jan Morgan. Morgan owns a range in Little Rock, AR. That's when Tonya decided that she was going to be an instructor.

In the fall of 2020, Tonya got heavily involved in A Girl & A Gun, the nation's top female firearm group. Her chapter has over 100 women in it. AGAG hosts a conference every year and has chapters all around the United States. Tonya started one in McHenry County, Illinois. The first meeting was at her house and it was packed to the rafters! They also host courses and events at some local ranges and at her home classroom.

When concealed carry became a thing in Illinois in 2013, she jumped all in with both feet. She became an instructor through both the NRA and USCCA, as well as a Training Counselor so she could teach the instructors. The permitting course requirements in Land of Lincoln is a whopping 16 hours of class time! Her business, Act Fast Academy, offers several firearms courses, but also medical courses, which is also important for gun folks to take. With a career teaching in the medical field, getting into firearm instruction was a no brainer.

During 2020, things were tough in the training business. With the state mandated live fire as part of the training, Tonya started going into her own stash of ammunition to keep the instructing business going. She has noticed a pattern that every four years, there's gun and ammo issues, which just happens to coincide with the presidential election years. Buying ammo can be tricking in states like Massachusetts where they keep track of what you're buying. On the flip side, they're also going to require that people do live fire to get permits.

All the training she's taken for herself and her students, getting certified with NRA and USCCA, and going out to competitions has earned her respect. Through her AGAG connections, she's been going to Outdoor Texas Camps to work with young females aged 9-17. She gets to instruct young women in all types of firearms and shooting. The camp has pistol, rifle, shotgun, fishing, archery, mock blood trails, fly fishing, and a whole host of events. With her experience and expertise, she keeps getting invited back.

Tonya is very energetic! She's offering courses all the time. Courses from firearms to medical and just about everything in between. She's active with AGAG, NRA, and USCCA. If you're in northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin, or eastern Iowa, you ought to look her up and take a course.

Favorite quotes:

"If you make me do something, I'm going to do it all the way."

"They make you a criminal just over night, with the stroke of a pen."

"The firearms world can handle me. I'm going to become an instructor, too."

"Women want to shoot. They want other women to shoot with. They want to have fun doing it."

Act Fast Academy website

https://actfastacademy.org/

Act Fast Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/ACTFastMedicalTrainingIL/

Act Fast USCCA page

https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/firearms-training/instructors/illinois-instructors/act-fast-first-aid-firearms-academy-1326862/

A Girl & A Gun McHenry County Chapter

https://www.agirlandagun.org/chapter/il-mchenry-county/

Second Amendment Foundation

https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun

Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

https://www.ccrkba.org/

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