'Unbelievable' rise in weapons permitsInterest grew substantially after law reduced sheriffs' ability to deny them© 2011, Des Moines Register and Tribune Co.
The number of Iowans seeking permits to carry handguns and other weapons has increased 170 percent during the first 11 months of 2011 — a trend one Iowa sheriff calls “unbelievable.”
During the first year in which a new law gave sheriffs less discretion over which residents can be denied permits,
94,516 Iowans sought and received non-professional weapons permits from January through November, the Iowa Department of Public Safety reports.
Data from the state’s three most populous counties show an even greater surge in weapons permits in key urban areas. In Polk, Linn and Scott counties, the number of permits issued thus far in 2011 is 271 percent higher than in 2010.
“It really has been amazing,” Cerro Gordo County Sheriff Kevin Pals said. “Interest has continued the whole year here.”
The increase is attributed to a change in state law that took effect Jan. 1 that requires Iowa sheriffs to give weapons permits to almost everyone who asks for one. Previously, a sheriff could deny a permit for any or no reason.
A spot check statewide shows:
In Polk County, which includes the Des Moines metro area, 9,720 permits have been issued in 2011, more than three times the number in 2010, when 2,597 permits were issued.
In Linn County, which includes Cedar Rapids, 5,293 permits have been issued this year through Dec. 13. In all of 2010, 1,921 permits were issued.
In Scott County, which includes Davenport, 4,212 permits have been issued through November. In 2010, 670 permits were issued.
And in Cerro Gordo County, which includes Mason City, 1,221 permits have been issued through Dec. 13. In 2010, 482 people sought weapons permits.
“It’s unbelievable,” Pals said. “It hasn’t slowed. The permits used to be one-year permits. Now they are good for five years.”
Scott County Sheriff Dennis Conard, who has seen a 570 percent increase in permits, said few problems have cropped up despite more Iowans having handgun permits.
He believes people who qualify for a permit are not likely to cause trouble.
“I didn’t expect any problems with the people who qualify, with the gun law or anything else,” Conard said.
In Des Moines, Jose Aquino has a new permit — and says he feels safer with a gun.
Already an owner of four firearms, Aquino, 27, was looking at handguns at Ron’s Pawn and Gun, 125 Army Post Road, in Des Moines, last week.
When he spotted a weapon apparently made for a woman he recoiled playfully. The owner of the store, Tracy Adams, gave him a closer look at a petite raspberry-colored handgun.
This one is popular with women, Adams said.
“No thank you,” Aquino said, smiling. He scanned a display case that had larger, darker-colored semi-automatic weapons.
Aquino, who owns Vision Night Club in West Des Moines, said he likes having a permit that is good for five years instead of one. He’s also glad he doesn’t have to get separate credentials to purchase a weapon. His carry permit is good for that, too.
“No one is out to get me,” Aquino said. “I’m not worried about that. I pray to God I never have to use it. But I definitely feel safer when I carry it.” Asked if he was carrying a weapon at the moment, he nodded. Asked to show it, he pulled up his shirt to expose the handle of a semi-automatic handgun.
He said he bought his first gun two years ago. He didn’t feel he was mature enough to handle one until then.
“Now I just love guns,” he said. “I know it is a big responsibility.”
Aquino is critical of requirements that allow citizens to obtain permits without completing at least eight or nine hours of training and practical experience at a range.
Firearms like the easy-to-conceal .380-caliber Ruger LCP and the Taurus TCP were all the rage earlier this year at Ron’s Pawn and Gun.
But that trend has yielded to larger firearms and smaller guns of a larger caliber, according to Adams.
Why are more Iowans seeking permits?
“The majority of people I’ve talked to said they’d just always wanted one,” said Pals, the Cerro Gordo County sheriff. “And now they can in Iowa and they are following through with it. The training that’s required is a lot easier now.”
Pals said it’s not uncommon to see a husband and wife showing up to get permits together — or even a group of friends.
In Linn County, Maj. John Godar of the Sheriff’s Department said increased availability of mandatory training has added to Iowans’ interest.
“Instructors, some from out of state, came in and started teaching classes,” Godar said. “Some gun dealers and sporting goods stores sponsored classes.”
Keith Romp of Controlled Chaos Arms of Baxter said interest in classes has remained high throughout the year.
“People have always had an interest in exercising their Second Amendment rights, and now they are following through with it,” said Romp, a Polk County deputy who holds many of his training classes at a range in Searsboro.
Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association, said personal safety is an issue of nationwide concern.
“This is not the case just in Iowa. This is across the country,” Arulanandam said. “People are placing a higher premium on safety.”
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20111223/NEWS/312230040/-Unbelievable-rise-in-weapons-permits
