TX:Concealed-handgun licenses not widespread

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Concealed-handgun licenses not widespreadINSIDE CRIME FIGHTINGBy MARK THOMPSONStar-Telegram Staff WriterNORTH RICHLAND HILLS - About twice as many Texans are toting concealed weapons compared with five years ago, when residents were first legally allowed to carry them.There were 218,661 concealed-handgun licenses on Dec. 3, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. That is nearly double the 114,475 licenses issued during 1996.Still, only 1 percent to 2 percent of the public has licenses, based on a sampling of DPS statistics from 10 statewide, 10 Tarrant County and 11 Northeast Tarrant County ZIP codes.More license owners live in the 76180 ZIP code in North Richland Hills than in all but one place in the state - the 75052 ZIP code in Grand Prairie, statistics show. But census figures indicate that the handgun owners represent only 1.4 percent of the populations in those ZIP codes.In the North Richland Hills ZIP code, licenses increased to 757 on Dec. 3 from 411 in December 1996. In the Grand Prairie ZIP code, licenses increased to 767 from 392.During that period, only six licenses were revoked in the North Richland Hills ZIP code, according to DPS statistics. And the increase in licenses has not sparked extra trouble in the city, Police Department spokesman Larry Irving said."Because we are not getting more reports in, I'm led to believe people are taking the advice of their instructors and being responsible," he said.The city's only recent problem with a licensed gun carrier occurred in December. Someone moved without changing the address on his license, Irving said.Richland Hills resident John Bynum, one of 3,195 certified concealed-handgun instructors in Texas, said he has trained more than 3,000 license holders during the past five years.Few people with licenses carry handguns all the time, he said. Many obtain them to carry a gun in a vehicle, he said. Many who carry a gun outside their vehicles do so only occasionally, Bynum said."There's probably 10 percent, maybe 20 percent, that carry them all the time," he said.In some instances, gun carriers defuse dangerous situations without firing a shot, Bynum said.One of his students, an Arlington resident, told him that he had pulled his gun once, when someone threatened him with a knife."Just the presence of the gun stopped the incident," Bynum said.Mark Thompson, (817) 685-3859 markthompson@star-telegram.com http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/living/community/states/texas/northeast/2501348.htm ONLINE: For information about concealed-handgun license applications and rules, visit the Texas Department of Public Safety Web site at www.txdps.state.tx.us/administration/ crime_records/chl/faq.htm