LTCF applications up 50%!

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More carrying guns in Butler County
Need rises for permits
By Jim Smith
Eagle Staff Writer
Published: July 28, 2012


The Butler County Sheriff's Department has seen a sharp rise in the number of permits issued to carry concealed handguns.

“It's very noticeable,” said Sheriff Mike Slupe. “There's been a big increase.”
So big that the county is on pace this year to see a better than 50 percent hike in carry permits issued over 2011.

And Butler County is not alone.

In surrounding counties, more and more people are getting licensed to carry guns, too.

“Some days here I've had a line for six hours,” said Clarion County Sheriff Rex Munsee. “We've been so busy that at times I've wondered to myself, “What's going on? Is there a fire sale on permits?”

“We've seen a big spike,” said Armstrong County Sheriff Larry Crawford.
What's driving the demand? It's anyone's guess.

Protection, leisure, hunting, freedom are some of the reasons. The so-called “Obama factor” is another.

“There's a perceived fear or concern among a community of people that (President) Obama will try do something to take away or restrict their gun rights,” Munsee said.

Slupe said the same anxiety over stricter gun control is alive in Butler County. But to have and to hold guns is more about the culture here, he said.
“Butler County residents have always been strong advocates of gun rights,” he said. “And they're becoming more educated than ever before about those rights. That has a lot to do with the increase in carry licenses.”
Slupe's office in 2011 approved 3,671 concealed carry applications, which includes new permits and renewals.

This year, as of Monday, the office has already approved 3,338 applications; that comes out to a monthly average of 475, compared to last year's average of 305.

Carry permits, which are issued by sheriff's departments in Pennsylvania, are good for five years. A $20 fee is charged at the time of application.
Virtually all applications, following a background check by the state police's Pennsylvania Instant Check System, are approved.

“It's the times.” said Beaver County Sheriff George David. “Every time you turn on the TV (news) you see a shooting. People are arming themselves.”
Carry permits are in high demand in Beaver County. As of Tuesday this year, David's office has issued 2,701 new permits and renewals — a better-than 35 percent rise over last year's pace when 3,400 permits were approved.
In 2010, Beaver County issued 2,851 permits.

Handgun permits are an even hotter ticket in Clarion County. The county is on pace to see a 75 percent increase in permits issued this year over 2011.
Last year, Munsee's office processed 870 new permits and renewals, a big up-tick from the 628 issued in 2010. As Tuesday this year, the office has issued 879.

The pistol permits to some, Munsee said, represent more than a license to carry.

“Some of those who have gotten new permits tell me, 'I never carry. I just want to express my Second Amendment rights,” Munsee said.
A new state law likely was incentive for some new permit holders in Armstrong County, Crawford said.

“I think the 'Castle Doctrine' somewhat drove up our numbers,” he said.
Gov. Tom Corbett in June 2011 signed the so-called “Castle Doctrine” legislation into law.

The law gives people the right to use deadly force outside of their home when they fear their lives are in danger.

Traditionally, people under threat outside their home would have to try and retreat from an attack as a first option. The former law only permitted deadly force inside the home.

Mercer County Sheriff Gary Hartman said he's seen a hike in carry permits in his county, although not at the levels in Butler and Clarion.
“We've issued 2,400 this year (as of July 24),” he said. “That's about a 15 percent increase from last year.”

Hartman cited a “multitude of reasons” for the increase.

One is that this year his office modernized its processing procedure to allow permits to be issued the same day in which people apply for them.
Most if not all other counties in Pennsylvania have had that same-day feature for years.

Word of a more automated office, Hartman suspects, has also gotten out in Ohio just several miles to the county's west.

“We're seeing an overflow of applicants from Ohio,” he said.
More and more Ohio concealed carry license holders, especially those who work, do business or shop in the Keystone State, are opting to obtain Pennsylvania carry permits in Mercer County.

While the two states do not have a right-to-carry reciprocity agreement, many Pennsylvania counties have opted on their own to issue permits to qualified Ohio residents.

Of the 15,000 active concealed carry permits issued by his office, Hartman said, 6,000 are held by Ohio residents.

Not unlike its neighbors, Lawrence County has seen a hefty increase this year in processed carry permits.

In 2010 and 2011, the county issued 1,574 and 1,751 permits, respectively, said Sheriff Perry Quahliero.

Already in 2012, his office as of Tuesday has approved 1,801 permits.
“The main reason I think,“ Quahliero said, “is that people are concerned with the increase in crime. They want to protect themselves, so they carry.”

A changing gender dynamic is also boosting permits.

“There's been an increase in women buying guns and with that,” Quahliero said, “more women than before are coming in for carry licenses.”

Growing trend
Here is a comparison of the number of concealed carry gun permits issued in 2011 and so far in 2012, by county:

Butler County
2011: 3,671
Through July 2012: 3,338

Beaver County
2011: 3,400
Through July 2012: 2,701

Clarion County
2011: 870
Through July 2012: 879

Lawrence County
2011: 1,751
Through July 2012: 1,801

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Growing trend
Here is a comparison of the number of concealed carry gun permits issued in 2011 and so far in 2012, by county:

Butler County
2011: 3,671
Through July 2012: 3,338

Beaver County
2011: 3,400
Through July 2012: 2,701

Clarion County
2011: 870
Through July 2012: 879

Lawrence County
2011: 1,751
Through July 2012: 1,801

Baby Vulcan smiles while the hippies and statists wail and cry and bemoan the horror of all that freedom to deter crime and tryants!

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Baby Vulcan smiles while the hippies and statists wail and cry and bemoan the horror of all that freedom to deter crime and tryants!

Speaking of tyrants... which LE officials want to take away our rights? Police chiefs who are appointed, not elected. Notice how many of these sheriffs seem to be big 2A supporters. No small coincidence that they're all elected, not appointed by nanny politicians.