Tens of thousands of Americans throughout the country have been issued concealed-firearms permits from the state of Utah and are allowed to legally carry their guns in 32 other states.
With the Supreme Court's recent ruling that the Second Amendment--guaranteeing an individual's constitutional right to bear arms--applies to state and local laws, gun owners are turning to Utah in record numbers to obtain permits.
According to the Bureau of Criminal Identification, the division of the Utah Department of Public Safety that issues the permits, 241,811 permits have been granted--almost half of those were given to nonresidents. Over the past ten years, the number of permits issued represents a surge of approximately 430 percent.
Since the permits are relatively easy to obtain and renew, some refer to a Utah firearm permit as "the most prized gun permit in the country." At least 21-years-old, applicants must pass a background check, pay a $65.25 application and processing fee, and complete a weapons familiarity certification class--not necessarily taught in the state of Utah. Once granted, the concealed-carry permit is good for five years and only costs $10 to renew.
Peter Hamm, spokesperson for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, doesn't approve. "I think it's absolutely shameful and ludicrously irresponsible to say that anybody anywhere who wants one of our concealed-carry permits, and thus will be able to carry legally in dozens of states, can just log on to our Web site and pay 60 bucks and that's all she wrote," Hamm said, according to the New York Times.
He believes Utah's policy is dangerous for the country as a whole, claiming that many states are less than diligent with submitting felony and mental health records to a federal database used for the background checks.
But gun-rights advocates like W. Clark Aposhian, chairman of Utah's Concealed Weapons Review Board, disagrees. "The spirit of self-defense should not stop at a state's border," he said. "Not once has there been a pattern of problems with Utah permit holders in other states."
Aposhian, a firearms expert and instructor, said concealed-weapon restrictions in other states are the reason for the surge in nonresidents' desire to obtain permits. "It's not Utah that has made the permit so valuable," he said. "It's other states that have made it so valuable." As far as background checks, he believes application procedures are solid. "I'll put Utah's process up against any other state's."
In 2004, the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification received about 8,000 applications for gun permits. In 2009, that number jumped significantly with 73,925 applications being submitted. Almost 60 percent of those came from nonresidents.
Sources: New York Times, publicsafety.utah.gov, and msnbc.com
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Comments
"Cost to cartels to plant a DECOY plot:
~$500 per site.
Cost to Law Enforcement to pull weeds with helicopters:
~$5,000 per HOUR..."
I also read the following comments; blatantly obvious, yet more useful than anything in the article.
Prohibition, as always, is more multi-billion dollar, anti-free-enterprise, welfare for the rich.
Decriminalization would save innocent lives and kill the drug cartels (which, of course, pay millions of dollars to the drug enforcement lobby to keep drugs illegal).
In Colorado, the growing legal hemp business already looks aimed to become a major industry that could turbo charge the economy.
Utah and other surrounding states help Colorado by maintaining these incredibly dysfunctional laws.
I'll send your article to friends in Colorado; they can enjoy the good news.
Utah, doing their best to make sure every criminal, terrorist and psychopath is well armed.
"Utah, doing their best to make sure every criminal, terrorist and psychopath is well armed."
NO!
The criminals you mentioned IGNORE gun laws. They steal guns or buy stolen weapons from other criminals.
They do not apply for concealed handgun permits because they could not pass the background check.
Helmke, as usual, is misleading people by making it appear that one can just go to the 'net and buy a permit with a credit card. This is not true at all since law enforcement searches crime databases nationwide.
I guess you cannot let the facts get in the way of your agenda.
Utah, doing their best to make sure every criminal, terrorist and psychopath is well armed.
NO, Alex
The criminals are already armed. They don't give a d@mn about the law. Anti-gunners don't want the honest person to be able to defend themselves. Anti-gunners such as Bloomberg, Daley, Sarah Brady and you are responsible for thousands of death because of your unconstitutional, anti-gun laws.
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