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The Obama Factor? Utah's concealed weapon applications break records
Packing » Tens of thousands licensed to carry
By Sheena Mcfarland
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 01/10/2009 11:51:42 AM MST
Gun owners are flooding the state with applications for concealed weapons permits, with almost 45,000 applications filed in 2008, easily a record number, quadrupling the figure from just four years ago.
With the surge, about one in every 25 Utahns over age 21 could be carrying a licensed concealed weapon, according to a Tribune analysis of numbers from the Bureau of Criminal Identification.
In December, alone, BCI received 6,000 permit requests -- the highest number ever, capping a year with six record-breaking months.
In all, some 71,000 Utahns have a license to pack a concealed weapon. It is estimated that another 71,000 out-of-state residents have a Utah permit.
Experts say the sharp increase in the numbers can be attributed to several factors: national politics, the economic downturn and well-publicized shootings.
Clark Aposhian, chairman of the Utah Shooting Sports Council, says gun owners, worried about the gun control stances of President-elect Barack Obama, scurried to get a permit. Applications poured in during the Democratic primary and saw a huge spike after the Nov. 4 election.
"Sen. Barack Obama comes from a state that has, if not the most, then the second-most restrictive gun laws in the nation," Aposhian said.
The prospect of a faltering economy leading to increased crime also has people applying for permits, he said.
"People would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it," he said.
Lt. Doug Anderson, Bureau of Criminal Identification manager, points to fear generated by mass shootings.
"There has been some increase in violent crime, and when public shootings like at Trolley Square and Virginia Tech happened, permit applications began to spike up," he said. "But another reason why people are wanting to get the Utah permit is its wide-ranging reciprocity."
Thirty-three other states honor Utah's concealed weapons permit and more out-of-state instructors are certified to teach the courses needed to get a Utah permit, Anderson said.
The increase worries Steve Gunn, a member of the board of directors of the Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah.
"People who carry guns or who even own guns should understand that a gun is far more likely to be misused than be for the protection of the individual," Gunn said in a recent interview. "People ought not to be buying or carrying guns."
That sentiment doesn't seem to be shared by many Utahns, though. Gun sales have seen a sharp increase over the past two years, with 14,541 more guns sold in 2008 than 2007. There also have been more requests than ever for permits to purchase special weapons, Anderson said, such as machine guns, short-barreled shotguns and rifles or silencers.
To buy those specialty items, applicants must pass a background check to prove they have no criminal record and get approval from local law enforcement, Aposhian said.
"These gun owners are worried they will be the first ones targeted by any new gun laws," he said. "They may not be able to buy them anymore, or, in the worst-case scenario, taken away. I don't think that's likely, but I can't put it out of the realm of possibility."
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Packing » Tens of thousands licensed to carry
By Sheena Mcfarland
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 01/10/2009 11:51:42 AM MST
Gun owners are flooding the state with applications for concealed weapons permits, with almost 45,000 applications filed in 2008, easily a record number, quadrupling the figure from just four years ago.
With the surge, about one in every 25 Utahns over age 21 could be carrying a licensed concealed weapon, according to a Tribune analysis of numbers from the Bureau of Criminal Identification.
In December, alone, BCI received 6,000 permit requests -- the highest number ever, capping a year with six record-breaking months.
In all, some 71,000 Utahns have a license to pack a concealed weapon. It is estimated that another 71,000 out-of-state residents have a Utah permit.
Experts say the sharp increase in the numbers can be attributed to several factors: national politics, the economic downturn and well-publicized shootings.
Clark Aposhian, chairman of the Utah Shooting Sports Council, says gun owners, worried about the gun control stances of President-elect Barack Obama, scurried to get a permit. Applications poured in during the Democratic primary and saw a huge spike after the Nov. 4 election.
"Sen. Barack Obama comes from a state that has, if not the most, then the second-most restrictive gun laws in the nation," Aposhian said.
The prospect of a faltering economy leading to increased crime also has people applying for permits, he said.
"People would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it," he said.
Lt. Doug Anderson, Bureau of Criminal Identification manager, points to fear generated by mass shootings.
"There has been some increase in violent crime, and when public shootings like at Trolley Square and Virginia Tech happened, permit applications began to spike up," he said. "But another reason why people are wanting to get the Utah permit is its wide-ranging reciprocity."
Thirty-three other states honor Utah's concealed weapons permit and more out-of-state instructors are certified to teach the courses needed to get a Utah permit, Anderson said.
The increase worries Steve Gunn, a member of the board of directors of the Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah.
"People who carry guns or who even own guns should understand that a gun is far more likely to be misused than be for the protection of the individual," Gunn said in a recent interview. "People ought not to be buying or carrying guns."
That sentiment doesn't seem to be shared by many Utahns, though. Gun sales have seen a sharp increase over the past two years, with 14,541 more guns sold in 2008 than 2007. There also have been more requests than ever for permits to purchase special weapons, Anderson said, such as machine guns, short-barreled shotguns and rifles or silencers.
To buy those specialty items, applicants must pass a background check to prove they have no criminal record and get approval from local law enforcement, Aposhian said.
"These gun owners are worried they will be the first ones targeted by any new gun laws," he said. "They may not be able to buy them anymore, or, in the worst-case scenario, taken away. I don't think that's likely, but I can't put it out of the realm of possibility."
[email protected]
