Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
In the wake of the Supreme Court gun-carry decision, states who were forced to change their laws are experiencing a massive surge in applicants for permits.
The Court declared restrictive “good reason” standards unconstitutional in last month’s New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, and now the states with similar laws to New York are facing a wave of people seeking permits. The affected states are struggling to keep up with demand as they await new procedures to be developed for handling the flood of requests.
“There has been an increase in inquiries regarding the conditions and procedures for obtaining a concealed carry permit,” Nassau police In New York said in a statement. “We have also experienced a surge of requests for upgrades to full carry permits, and we are waiting for state and local government to enact these new policies.”
The Bruen-inspired spike is likely to accurate the recent trend of people seeking gun-carry licenses. The number of concealed handgun permits rose to 21.5 million through the end of 2021, according to a study by the Crime Prevention Research Center. That represented a 48 percent increase since 2016.
Maryland State Police released data on Monday showing that there has been a 900 percent increase in applications since the Bruen decision compared to last year. The agency said it is so flooded with requests that its registration system broke down from the volume of applicants. The State Police said its system experienced outages because it exceeded its internet service provider’s limit of outgoing emails two days straight. The department said it is currently capped at 10,000 emails during a 24-hour period.
In California, the Los Angeles Sherriff Department is reviewing applications at a faster rate than ever and expecting a continued rise. Sheriff Alex Villanueva told Spectrum News he is anticipating 50,000 concealed-carry permits. While Villanueva had issued only 155 active permits as of 2020, the office has now issued 3,145 since June 29th.
Villaneuva said he is less concerned with the increase in permitted gun carriers than he is with those who don’t care about the state’s carry laws at all.
“It’s not the question about how many permitted gun holders are out there, it’s just the guns that we know that are already in the wrong hands,” Villanueva told the outlet. “That crowd, no law applies to them because they’re not paying attention to any law.”
Hawaii is also experiencing an increase. Honolulu Police Chief Joe Logan told the Honolulu Police Commission that they had received between two and 27 applicants per year, according to a report by KITV. However, his office has noticed a marked change since the Bruen ruling.
“In 2022, prior to the decision, there were three applications, but as of late June, we’ve had 48 applications, and that doesn’t include what came in today,” Logan said at the meeting. “And so those are on hold till further notice until I get the guidance and direction, then I’m ready to move forward.”
New Jersey State Police are predicting 200,000 new carry permit applications as a result of Bruen, according to a report from NJ.com. Evan Nappen, a prominent New Jersey gun-rights attorney, said he expects there will be a massive increase in applications.
“It’s going to explode beyond anyone’s expectations,” Nappen said.
https://thereload.com/gun-carry-applications-flood-blue-states-following-bruen-decision/