SALISBURY (CBS) – Even before the Connecticut school shooting, more and more people in Massachusetts were looking to get a gun.

The amount of gun licenses issued in the Bay State has been rising for years.

Candi Hogan’s first time firing a gun was Thursday.

“I think it’s high time that I was informed, rather than be afraid,” said Candi. “There may be a time I have to protect myself, my own family.”

She says after the horrendous massacre in Newtown, she wants to get her license to carry. So she went to the range with her daughter Micaela, who wants to get her license too.

“There are guns in my house, if someone ever came in I didn’t know the first thing about using them, about loading a gun and putting it to use,” she says.

There has been a significant increase in gun permits in Massachusetts. The Boston Globe reports a 36% increase in Class A permits which cover handguns, rifles and shotguns.

“Women, when we first opened up were almost non-existent,” says Bob Bernstein. “That was 23 years ago. Within the last 5-6 years, women who come in and shoot now are 30-35%.

Bernstein, who owns Bob’s Indoor Public Shooting Range in Salisbury, says there was a surge in sales following President Obama’s first election because of fears about more gun control. He expects that to come now after Newtown and is hoping for a balanced approach.

“There definitely needs to be regulations on guns,” says Bernstein. “Anybody who says there isn’t doesn’t know what they are talking about. Guns are dangerous in the wrong hands.”