Monroe Chat

Since Obama, KY gun permits surge
By Harold J. Adams • The Courier-Journal • July 6, 2009

The number of people seeking gun permits has soared in Kentucky and Indiana this year, apparently sparked by fears that President Barack Obama's administration has an anti-firearms agenda.

In Jefferson County, for example, the number of applications processed in February and March were triple those the same months last year and nearly doubled through May, to 1,484.

Statewide figures show a similar trend. Kentucky State Police say they issued 16,114 licenses last year to carry concealed deadly weapons. The number issued through June 29 this year was already 15,531.

Indiana issued 42,403 new handgun permits in the first four months of this year, up from 29,029 in the same period last year, prompting the state police, which processes the applications, to hire five temporary workers to handle the crush, according to Lt. Jerry Berkey, commander of the Indiana State Police Firearms Section.

"What I hear a lot of people saying is they're afraid they're going to lose their gun rights," said Cindy Avis, who processes gun permit applications for the Harrison County, Ind., Sheriff's Department. She said her agency processed 547 applications through June 22, closing fast on the 683 processed in all of 2008.

James Grimes, a gun instructor who provides training that is required in Kentucky before a concealed deadly weapon permit is issued, said he and others fear the Obama administration — specifically, Attorney General Eric Holder — has a "personal agenda."

"His whole main purpose in life is to outlaw personal gun ownership," Grimes said.

The White House issued a statement last month dismissing such fears.

"The president believes the Second Amendment creates an individual right, and he respects the constitutional rights of Americans to bear arms," said the statement, which adds that the administration "is committed to protecting the rights of hunters and other law abiding Americans to purchase, own, transport and use guns while stopping firearms traffickers and keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, terrorists, and others prohibited from owning them."

NRA spokeswoman Rachel Parsons acknowledged that Obama "essentially ran on a pro-gun platform during the election." But she said during the president's time as an Illinois state legislator and as a U.S. senator, "he has voted anti-gun nearly every single vote."

Parsons said that with Democratic congressional leadership and an attorney general that the NRA considers to be against gun rights, "it gives the American public a reason to be concerned."

Surges in gun ownership have been reported throughout the nation since Obama's election, and local officials say the administration's stated position doesn't seem to matter to those who've decided they need to get while the getting is good.

Oldham County Sheriff's Office records clerk Sheana Dewitt said her numbers have increased dramatically since the election.

"They told me they wanted to hurry up and get it before Obama got in," she said of eager applicants. "They just thought all the rules were going to change and that you weren't going to be able to get a permit anymore."

And the pace hasn't slowed, she said.

"We only do ours on Tuesdays and it's pretty much what we do all day Tuesday, is carrying concealed permits," Dewitt said.

New Albany Police Captain Rick Denny said he is concerned that so many new gun licenses are being issued in Indiana, but only because -- unlike Kentucky -- his state doesn't require training before the permit is granted. "I think it should be required," he said.

Denny said he's concerned about someone drawing a weapon in what that person believes is a self-defense situation. The law may view it differently, he said.
"Unless they justify that action, that person can be arrested," he said.

The increase in applications comes at a time when Indiana is speeding up the permit process by making applications available on the Internet. The program was tried out last year in Wells and Miami counties and is now spreading across the state.

Residents in a third of Indiana's 92 counties -- including Clark, Floyd and Harrison -- can now fill out an online concealed carry application that's automatically transmitted to their local police agency, where they still must show up in person to pay the license fee, be fingerprinted and undergo a background check.

Within the next two months, dedicated digital fingerprinting and background check stations will be set up across Indiana that will automate the process even more, said Berkey.

The prints and record will be sent by computer to state police, eliminating the need for applicants to roll their fingers in ink at a police station and then mail the resulting fingerprint card to Indianapolis.

Licenses are mailed to applicants four to eight weeks after they send in their forms under the current system, Berkey said.

"We hope to have it out within a couple of weeks" once the new system is fully implemented, he said.

In Kentucky, where the permit system is not automated, processing can take up to 90 days, said Oldham Sheriff's Office spokesman Michael Meece.

Generally, however, it takes four to six weeks, said Angela Hawkins, who handles processing for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department.

I know ammo is getting tougher to find.

Does this suprise any one?

Not surprised at all. The states do make money from the sell of hunting and fishing licenses. There are plenty of good people that own guns for sport purpose but Obama is worried for me and my son.

Tracy wrote:Does this suprise any one?

He has shown he will say one thing and turn around and do another. Most of the time he does this to appease another potintal vote

Tracy wrote:He has shown he will say one thing and turn around and do another. Most of the time he does this to appease another potintal vote

Your "typical" DC politician.