Gun sales, permit applications up

[Computer Steve]

From the local paper: http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_13231153

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Gun sales, permit applications up
Gun proponents say people feared the president's perceived anti-gun stance.
By TED CZECH
Daily Record/Sunday News
Updated: 08/29/2009 06:56:12 PM EDT


In the days and weeks after Barack Obama's victory in the presidential election, the number of concealed weapon permits issued in York County spiked, Sheriff Richard Keuerleber said last week.
Nearly 1,000 permits were issued in November and December, just about equal to the previous six months.

Along with permits, another firearm-related surge occurred. Customers flocked to Scott Morris' Freedom Armory in Springfield Township to buy guns "as fast as we could sell them," he said.

The fact that the increase occurred just after the election was no accident, Morris and Keuerleber said.

"That spike is purely political. It's the election and the fear of carrying laws going away because of the Democrats," Morris said. "We know the drumbeat. Anytime you have a rabidly anti-gun party in power, you get this result."

People seeking concealed-weapon permits have expressed similar sentiments, said Keuerleber, whose office issues the permits.

"I think people were apprehensive over what was going to happen, with the changing of the administration, were things going to change, but the laws haven't changed," he said. "I think things are settling in with the changing of the guard."

The number of permits has dropped a bit, but year-to-date is still higher than last year's totals, according to the sheriff's office.

Morris said gun and ammunition sales, along with the number of registrants for gun-safety courses, also jumped in the late fall.

Although White House spokesman Ben LaBolt said recently that the president "respects and supports the Second Amendment and the tradition of gun ownership in this country," gun owners say it was Obama's views on gun ownership prior to the election that had people worried.
In April 2008, Obama said, "I am not in favor of concealed weapons. I think that creates a potential atmosphere where more innocent people could (be shot during) altercations."

Hotly contested issue

Gun proponents cite the Second Amendment as the basis for their rights. It reads, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

They also say it is their right to arm themselves to prevent becoming victims of crime.

The country's largest pro-gun organization, the National Rifle Association, has a lobby division called the Institute for Legislative Action, which places lobbyists at the federal and state levels, said spokeswoman Vickie Cieplak.

On the other side are groups like the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, which argues on its Web site that gun-rights supporters espouse "insurrectionism," which they say "is part of a broader ideological perspective that opposes a strong, activist government in nearly all of its forms. Insurrectionist philosophy degrades the democratic values and institutions that protect all of the freedoms we enjoy as Americans."

Gun owner and concealed permit carrier Greg Lewis, 56, of Manchester Township, said people who apply for permits are "just the finest citizens in this community."

Lewis said he has his permit for two reasons: "For self-defense . . . and secondly, because I can."

Morris said most permit owners realize they can lose their licenses quickly and so are careful to play by the rules.

Lewis' wife, Catherine, 50, got her permit in September 2008, but not because of the election.

"No, actually, our house got broken into," he said. "I was gone, they (burglars) were inside the house with a 14-inch knife."

Catherine Lewis was asleep, but when an automatic coffee grinder turned on, it spooked the burglars, who ran.

"She missed them by a matter of minutes," he said. "It scared the bejesus out of her. . . . Ever since then, she shoots once a month."

Sean Landis, 38, of Red Lion, who was shooting targets at Freedom Armory last week, said he has had his permit at least a year or two, but he just started getting into shooting about four or five months ago.

"A friend got me into it because he said there was a strong possibility that we'd lose our gun rights," he said.

He also bought three guns after the election -- a handgun, a rifle and a shotgun.

"I think everyone should have the right to protect themselves," he said.

Permits and purchasing

Keuerleber said that, in his office, he has a deputy assigned full time to handle concealed weapon permits.

"The workload can sometimes keep three people busy," he said.

In order to receive a license, which lasts five years, a person must have a valid Pennsylvania driver's license, not be convicted of a felony or other crime stated in the application and be mentally stable.

"There's an application they have to fill out, there's references, we send it to Pennsylvania State Police, they do a criminal history," Keuerleber said.

State police receive the applications and use its Pennsylvania Instant Check System to examine a person's background, according to its Web site.

The PICS program also has another benefit: accuracy and efficiency in processing gun sales.

"If an individual is eligible to acquire a firearm, the PICS background check replaces the former, mandatory five-day waiting period," the state police Web site states. "Operation has shown that approximately 60% of the individuals attempting to purchase a firearm are approved within minutes."

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and USA Today contributed to this story.


Did you know?
A license to carry firearms in Pennsylvania allows an individual to do just that; it does not state that the person must carry it concealed. Nowhere on the application for a permit does the word "concealed" appear, nor does it appear on an actual license, as Scott Morris of Freedom Armory displayed.

A gun can also be carried in the open. According to PaOpenCarry.org, "In Pennsylvania, persons 18 years of age and older whom are not prohibited by law from owning firearms may openly carry a handgun in plain sight with no license except in vehicles, cities of the first class (Philadelphia) and where prohibited specifically by statute."


Who buys and shoots guns?
According to Scott Morris of Freedom Armory, everybody buys and shoots guns. But these days, the largest growing demographic is women.

"We teach classes -- 60 to 70 percent have always been female, not just at this election," he said. "They're not after hunting guns; they're after protection."

"We've got lawyers, we've got doctors, we've got the pillars of the community" who are customers. "I get little kids who come in here, families who take classes together. These are the backbone of the community."


In York County
Here are some numbers on how many people in York County were issued new permits in 2008-09:
2008

--- November: 444

--- December: 446

Prior to that, the per-month number had not exceeded 264.

--- Annual total: 2,641

2009

--- January-March: More than 300


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I think it was an excellent article - explained open carry and LTCF.

Please behave and don't reply with a quote that includes the entire article.

[stephpd]

How can a paper put out such stuff? Just reading that article must have scared a few residents.

[baker]

How can they make the mistake of using the term concealed carry permit when they later explain it's a license and it doesn't require concealment.

Poor editing staff...

But all in all a pretty positive article. I wish an article like this would be in every newspaper.

[Kimba]

All in all, I think it is very level headed and straight forward. No bashing, just statement of the facts. Two thumbs up.

[leeam]

All in all, I think it is very level headed and straight forward. No bashing, just statement of the facts. Two thumbs up.

I thought this was quite biased. Too many pro gun comments. I would have liked to have at least seen a statement from the Brady Campaign et al.

[Computer Steve]

I thought this was quite biased. Too many pro gun comments. I would have liked to have at least seen a statement from the Brady Campaign et al.

... for the children, .... of course

[fingers80002]

That same article was in the Hanover Evening Sun.

[LowFlyer]

That same article was in the Hanover Evening Sun.

....and what did Scott Morris of Freedom Armory have to 'say' about OC?

[XD40coyote]

....and what did Scott Morris of Freedom Armory have to 'say' about OC?

LOL yeah!

Also they are not in Springfield, they are in Glen Rock. Unless something happened with township border lines recently that I didn't hear about...

Freedom Armory used to be about 300 yards from where I lived in Shrewsbury btw. Dumb me at the time...

[Warpt762x39]

How can they make the mistake of using the term concealed carry permit when they later explain it's a license and it doesn't require concealment.

Poor editing staff...

But all in all a pretty positive article. I wish an article like this would be in every newspaper.

Not poor editing, just uninformed. Very few non-gun people know it as a LTCF. Most know it as a concealed carry permit. It's the term more commonly used across the country.

And you gotta give them a break on a little mistake like that. It's their first attempt at being pro gun lol