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stanmaxkolbe
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More Texans carry guns
AUSTIN - Armed criminals should take notice.
Next time they try to mug someone, rob a convenience store or take a person’s car at gunpoint, the would-be victim or victims also could be carrying a weapon.
A growing number of Texans have applied and are authorized to carry concealed guns, show Texas Department of Public Safety records.
Figures for the 2009-2010 fiscal year, which ended Aug. 31, have yet to be compiled, but at the end of calendar year 2009 the number of concealed handgun licenses increased 61.4 percent compared to the previous year, DPS reported.
“The demand for concealed handgun licenses remains high,” agency spokesman Tom Vinger said. “For more than a year we’ve had extra personnel to handle the demand.”
The percentage in the most populated counties in the Panhandle/South Plains region is slightly below the 61.4 percent increase in the state.
In Dawson, Hale and Hutchison counties, however, it was much higher, 138.5 percent, 80 percent and 72.4 percent respectively.
In the most populated counties in the region, Gray saw a 56.5 percent increase, Randall 56.3 percent, Lubbock 45.3 percent and Potter 27 percent.
State Rep. Joe Heflin, D-Crosbyton, whose largely rural, 16-county District 85 includes Hale County, said the sharp demand for concealed handgun licenses in the region and across the state doesn’t surprise him.
“There is a big concern that the Second Amendment rights are going to be diluted,” said Heflin, who is licensed and has been endorsed by the NRA. “That, plus the crime stories people hear or read about has triggered the high demand for concealed handgun licenses.”…
amarillo.com/news/local-news/2010-09-19/more-texans-carry-guns
Walking armed: More apply for gun permits
Since the state concealed handgun law went into effect 14 years ago, the number of Texans getting a license has steadily increased. In the last two years, the demand has skyrocketed in West Texas and across the state.
To the right are the numbers of licenses issued the last two years in the most populous counties in the Panhandle/South Plains region or in the counties with the sharpest percentage increases.
County 2009 2008 Percentage increase
Lubbock 1,633 1,124 45.3
Randall 997 638 56.3
Potter 428 337 27
Gray 194 124 56.5
Hutchinson 162 90 80
Hale 169 98 72.4
Moore 137 93 47.3
Dawson 93 9 138.5
Gaines 99 74 33.8
Hockley 105 73 43.8
Statewide 138,768 85,973 61.4
Source: Texas Department of Public Safety
AUSTIN - Armed criminals should take notice.
Next time they try to mug someone, rob a convenience store or take a person’s car at gunpoint, the would-be victim or victims also could be carrying a weapon.
A growing number of Texans have applied and are authorized to carry concealed guns, show Texas Department of Public Safety records.
Figures for the 2009-2010 fiscal year, which ended Aug. 31, have yet to be compiled, but at the end of calendar year 2009 the number of concealed handgun licenses increased 61.4 percent compared to the previous year, DPS reported.
“The demand for concealed handgun licenses remains high,” agency spokesman Tom Vinger said. “For more than a year we’ve had extra personnel to handle the demand.”
The percentage in the most populated counties in the Panhandle/South Plains region is slightly below the 61.4 percent increase in the state.
In Dawson, Hale and Hutchison counties, however, it was much higher, 138.5 percent, 80 percent and 72.4 percent respectively.
In the most populated counties in the region, Gray saw a 56.5 percent increase, Randall 56.3 percent, Lubbock 45.3 percent and Potter 27 percent.
State Rep. Joe Heflin, D-Crosbyton, whose largely rural, 16-county District 85 includes Hale County, said the sharp demand for concealed handgun licenses in the region and across the state doesn’t surprise him.
“There is a big concern that the Second Amendment rights are going to be diluted,” said Heflin, who is licensed and has been endorsed by the NRA. “That, plus the crime stories people hear or read about has triggered the high demand for concealed handgun licenses.”…
amarillo.com/news/local-news/2010-09-19/more-texans-carry-guns
Walking armed: More apply for gun permits
Since the state concealed handgun law went into effect 14 years ago, the number of Texans getting a license has steadily increased. In the last two years, the demand has skyrocketed in West Texas and across the state.
To the right are the numbers of licenses issued the last two years in the most populous counties in the Panhandle/South Plains region or in the counties with the sharpest percentage increases.
County 2009 2008 Percentage increase
Lubbock 1,633 1,124 45.3
Randall 997 638 56.3
Potter 428 337 27
Gray 194 124 56.5
Hutchinson 162 90 80
Hale 169 98 72.4
Moore 137 93 47.3
Dawson 93 9 138.5
Gaines 99 74 33.8
Hockley 105 73 43.8
Statewide 138,768 85,973 61.4
Source: Texas Department of Public Safety
