Tri-City locals looking for safety, applying for concealed license permits
TRI-CITIES, WA. - There's been a huge rush on new applications to buy guns -- and carry concealed weapons. Some cities have seen an outpouring of people turning weapons in following the massacre in Connecticut. But here in the Tri-Cities -- people are rapidly applying for a permit to hide a weapon.
Randy Harris owns a pawn shop, but he doesn't just sell guns, he owns them as well. Randy says he's seen a large spike in sales in the last few weeks, but not for Christmas presents.
More people said they felt they needed protection after the school shooting in Connecticut.
"It's very unfortunate we have a tragedy like that spur the enthusiasm for guns and people wanting to buy more guns," said pawn shop owner, Randy Harris.
This recent enthusiasm for firearms has lead to a logjam of people applying for concealed pistol licenses and going through background checks to purchase.
"More and more people are trying to buy guns and do background checks, the system is totally plugged up and a lot of people are being delayed at this time," said Harris.
Hopeful gun owners aren't seeing the quick turnaround they normally would. Checks are done by local police.
"A lot of things are not being accomplished administratively because they are focusing their time on processing the paperwork and conducting background checks," Cpt. Mike Cobb of the Richland Police Department.
Richland Police tell KEPR they've seeing five times as many applications to carry a concealed weapon as they have in months prior. Pasco P-D says they usually run around 15 applications a week, but in the last month have seen double that. Kennewick had 570 applications for a concealed-carry permit in all of last year. So far this year -- there's been more than 900.
"This is not a holiday rush because we have not seen this in the past," said Cpt. Cobb.
Randy is glad for the boom in business.
"I think the tragedy and election have spurred our sales," said Harris.
Which means more people in the Tri-Cities are now legally licensed to carry a concealed firearm.
Police tell KEPR that the process of getting approved or denied for a concealed pistol license is about five to seven business days. They do not expect decisions on approval to exceed that -- even with the added influx.
Randy Harris owns a pawn shop, but he doesn't just sell guns, he owns them as well. Randy says he's seen a large spike in sales in the last few weeks, but not for Christmas presents.
More people said they felt they needed protection after the school shooting in Connecticut.
"It's very unfortunate we have a tragedy like that spur the enthusiasm for guns and people wanting to buy more guns," said pawn shop owner, Randy Harris.
This recent enthusiasm for firearms has lead to a logjam of people applying for concealed pistol licenses and going through background checks to purchase.
"More and more people are trying to buy guns and do background checks, the system is totally plugged up and a lot of people are being delayed at this time," said Harris.
Hopeful gun owners aren't seeing the quick turnaround they normally would. Checks are done by local police.
"A lot of things are not being accomplished administratively because they are focusing their time on processing the paperwork and conducting background checks," Cpt. Mike Cobb of the Richland Police Department.
Richland Police tell KEPR they've seeing five times as many applications to carry a concealed weapon as they have in months prior. Pasco P-D says they usually run around 15 applications a week, but in the last month have seen double that. Kennewick had 570 applications for a concealed-carry permit in all of last year. So far this year -- there's been more than 900.
"This is not a holiday rush because we have not seen this in the past," said Cpt. Cobb.
Randy is glad for the boom in business.
"I think the tragedy and election have spurred our sales," said Harris.
Which means more people in the Tri-Cities are now legally licensed to carry a concealed firearm.
Police tell KEPR that the process of getting approved or denied for a concealed pistol license is about five to seven business days. They do not expect decisions on approval to exceed that -- even with the added influx.
How simple would it be to ASK local and State Police the number of times Law Abiding Citizens have used a gun to STOP Crime in the Tri City Area?  What ever happened to Investigative Reporting, searching for the truth on issues, challenging Government assertions?  Isn't that the purpose of a FREE Press?  To keep citizens informed...
Not so today, their copy comes from the White House.. What does Capital Hill have to keep Main Street Media in line with their agenda, the power of the FCC over them, what?
"Tri-Cities -- people are rapidly applying for a permit to hide a weapon."
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This is worded to cast a negative opinion,  Lets call it what it is, a license to carry a concealed pistol
Liberals have provided 'Killing Fields' called 'Gun Free Zones' that set people up like clay pigeons for mass killers.. Obama's kids go to school that have 11 armed Guards, not counting the secret service also provided, of course he doesn't worry about his kids safety.. These 'Killing Fields' guarantee the Liberals a list of victims to exploit as reason for ever increasing gun control laws... Do they address the 'Killing Field' they created, of course not, it is always guns that are to be blamed... They don't care about life, yours, mine or our kids... As long as their agenda is pushed forward by those deaths... How can I say that? To get the votes of women, Liberals support Abortion that kills 3000+ babies each and every day in the most inhumane methods possible... They don't care, they get the vote of women, that's all that matters, so why would 20, 30, 50 or 100 bodies bother them if it furthers their gun grabbing agenda? If anyone else were killing 3000+ of our kids PER DAY, we would be at WAR with them..  With the exception of the assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the DC Sniper, all mass killings in the last 20 years have been in 'Gun Free Zones' (Killing Fields).... And every time Criminal Actors and Crazies provide victims in these areas, Liberals start pumping out their gun grabbing mantra even before the bodies are cold... All news agencies including KEPR fail to report that guns are used 2.5 Million times each year by citizens to stop crime, most often without firing a shot.. They fail to report that far fewer innocent bystanders are shot when Citizens use a gun to stop crime compared to police.. They fail to report that perpetrators are far more likely to survive after being shot by a citizen than if shot by police because police often shoot the perp more times by all police on site.. It is not unusual for perps to be hit 8,9,10 or more times if shot by several police.. A citizen would have a hard time explaining shooting a perp over two or three times.. President Obama has become the worlds greatest gun salesman because of his multi faceted approach of disarming America, from UN small arms treaty, Executive orders, and his lemmings pushing for gun control from city, county, state and federal levels of government...   Main Stream Media and KEPR has become the propaganda machine for the left and purposely fail to challenge the assertions made by the Gun Grabbing Left..
 @Ballistic45Â
Well said. I will add the caveat that all but 1 mass shooting in the past 20 years have occurred in Gun Free Zones.  That would be the Fort Hood shooting.  That however is an isolated incident.
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John Lott wrote once stated that two words for unarmed citizens are "subjects" as they are in the UK and "victims".
If I remember right the shooting at Fort Hood was in a gun free area of the base... See:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hood_shooting@Ballistic45Â