State Blames Recession For Surge In Gun Permits
BY BUDDY NEVINS
There is at least one growth industry in the recession concealed weapons permits.
The state’s Division of Licensing reports a 151 percent increase in the past five years in concealed weapon permit applications.
Stories in The Miami Herald and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel blamed this on the election of Barack Obama and the fear that his administration will get tough on gun control. Maybe that’s part of the reason.
But Tallahassee credited the recession and notes the trend has been taking place since September.
An e-mail circulated among state bureaucrats this week states:
“The Division of Licensing has experienced an unforeseen flood of concealed weapons permit application submittals in the most recent three month period, dating to the beginning of September.
“This substantial increase has coincided with a significant global, national and state economic downturn, which has adversely affected our state economy.
“This economic peril and uncertainty are associated with increased criminal activity, resulting in personal safety concerns for citizens, which is estimated to be a factor in the sharp rise in applications for concealed weapon permits and the associated doubling of the backlog of unprocessed applications, renewals and supporting documentation packets, from 31,900 in late August to 63,660 at the beginning of December (a ten week backlog).
“This recent sharp growth is in addition to the tremendous growth in license applications previously documented in budget amendments and Legislative Budget Request (LBR) issues.
“From Fiscal Year (FY) 2003-04 to 2007-08, there has been a 91% increase in total new applications received (67,479 to 128,567), with a 151% increase in concealed weapons applications (33,444 to 84,058).
“Phone calls have increased dramatically, from 128,744 in FY 2004-05 to 301,427 in 2007-08, a 134% increase, and our call abandonment rate now exceeds 30%, in large part due to an average wait time of 12 minutes.
The department wants an addition 21 employees as soon as possible to process the applications.
“If this request is not approved, the Division’s backlog of applications, renewals and supporting documentation packets awaiting processing will continue to increase and the lapse in meeting statutorily mandated time frames for license issuance will continue.
“As a consequence, security guards, private investigators and recovery agents who must have these licenses to work will be adversely impacted, in addition to law abiding Floridians seeking concealed weapons for personal safety concerns.
December 30th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
The best thing that could happen to this country is for it to be harder for people to carry guns. Guns make it easier for people to kill each other.