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Armed and ready to defend
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Armed and ready to defendGun clubs, classes, shooting ranges hubs of activity 'We need to show (children) the reality of shooting. My children are not allowed to have toy guns. Guns are not toys.'- Sharlene Shappart (right), 30, with her son Anthony Gonzales, 4, and her .380 BerettaPhotos by GARY GAYNOR/Tucson CitizenPAUL L. ALLENCitizen Staff WriterNov. 14, 2001Fear of terrorist attacks has prompted a surge of applications for concealed weapon permits in Tucson and and around the nation.Local firearm training classes, which are required to obtain a concealed weapon permit, are also reporting more students. In at least two local programs, class sizes have nearly doubled since Sept. 11.Many of these new gun users never before thought about entering a shooting range, let alone applying for a permit to carry a concealed weapon."A lot of them have stated they were pacifists their whole life - pretty much anti-gun," said Scott Heinemann, a sales representative with Jensen's West Arizona Sportsman, a Tucson gun store which provides firearms training. "Now they feel it is time to buy a gun."Firearms training classes at Jensen's typically had 15 to 20 students, Heinemann said. Some now have as many as 35 students.Sgt. Bill Whalen, the Department of Public Safety official who oversees the state's concealed weapon permit program, anticipated the rise."I thought the numbers would go up a little bit," he said. "Any time there's a story referring to firearms or crime going up, we see a little glitch."That "glitch" in October turned out to be an estimated 62 percent increase compared with the previous month, Whalen said.An estimated 1,050 new applications for the permits were filed in October, compared with 648 new applicants in September.The terrorist attacks on New York and Washington "is the only thing we could tie it to," he said.Other states are also reporting new interest in concealed weapon permits.The Associated Press reported recently that the number of background checks conducted in Colorado on permit applicants went from 217 in September to 586 last month.Increases also were reported in Texas, Washington and Oklahoma. South Dakota reported the pace of permit application is 25 percent above normal, the AP said.Ian Burnett, an assistant manager at Jensen's, estimated that range use has increased by 30 percent since the September attacks. Heinemann said firearms sales are up in all areas - handguns, rifles, shotguns.Rick Batory, owner of Desert Trails Gun Club and Training Facility, said requests for concealed weapon firearms training "are probably double since Sept. 11. I would say close to a 100 percent increase. We're also seeing a large increase in basic and advanced firearms training."A spokesman at Marksman Pistol Institute, who identified himself only as Andy, said, "The classes we have for November are booked up, and most of December. We're working on January."Shooting range use usually is heavier on weekends, he said, but now at about 10:30 a.m. on a Thursday, "My range is full right now. On weekdays, we're seeing more and more business."Judy Hayes, 24, an IBM employee, is a recent graduate of the Desert Trails' training program. But she said she wasn't prompted to take the training by the terrorist attacks. Until recently, she was in the Marine Corps and was not allowed to have a concealed weapon permit.Firearms have been a part of her household and she intends to carry a concealed weapon regularly. Hayes added, "Next year, I'd like to be an instructor at Desert Trails."Not all local trainers are seeing an increase. "I had a lot more calls in September and early October," said Dave Twigg, a retired law enforcement officer who has been involved in the training since the program's inception in 1994. "I had 24 signed up for my October class, but only 11 showed up. My impression is there was a lot of fear, a knee-jerk reaction. But with a couple of weeks to think about it, a lot of people calmed down."DPS' Whalen said the overall trend in concealed weapon permit applications since the program's inception in 1994 has been a gradual tapering off.After an initial enthusiastic response in July 1994 - 24,000 applications - only about half those who obtained permits bothered to renew them in 1998, and only 10,000-12,000 renewals were processed.Whalen said DPS received 786 new permit applications in August, 648 in September, then had a surge to 1,050 in October.Figures for the same period a year ago were: 789 in August, 631 in September and 676 in October. Renewals usually total about half the number of new applications. Jim Coniglio, 58, fires a Glock semiautomatic with a .22-caliber converter at the Desert Trails Gun Club and Training Facility.Arizona now has approximately 63,000 active permits issued. The number of permits rescinded amounts to only a fraction of 1 percent, he added - and then often for infractions not involving firearms."I'm telling you, the things I'm seeing in the newspaper (criminal activity with firearms) are not law-abiding citizens, not permit holders," Whalen said. "They (criminals) wouldn't qualify for a permit to begin with. On the whole, our program is quite successful, and quite a few other states are monitoring us, and want to copy our system."Arizona has reciprocal agreements (they recognize Arizona permits; Arizona recognizes theirs) with five other states - Texas, Arkansas, Utah, Kentucky and Alaska - and at least two other states, Indiana and Vermont, recognize Arizona permits without a reciprocal agreement.The National Instant Criminal Background Check System, an FBI division that conducts instant checks for firearms sales and concealed weapons permits, conducted 937,042 checks in the month after the attacks, the AP reported.That was up 21 percent from the same period last year. A breakdown of checks for concealed weapons permits alone was not available.PERMIT APPLICATIONS AND RENEWALS New applications Renewals Month 2000 2001 2000 2001 August 789 786 432 354 September 631 648 365 294 October 676 1,050 401 300* *Estimate PERMIT REQUIREMENTS:16 hours of classroom training and shooting proficiency demonstration.Fingerprints and FBI background check.$50 license fee.Renewal every four years; $50 fee and four hours refresher training.What permit allows: Carrying concealed weapons (type not specified) in permitted areas, vehicles, city parks, etc.What it forbids: Carrying concealed weapons in prohibited areas - post offices, courthouses, federal buildings, restaurants/bars that serve liquor by the drink; establishments that post "No guns" notices. http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/local/11_14_01concealed.html
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