Winter storm watch issued for Linn, surrounding counties
Corbett asks Cedar Rapids residents to ‘fall in love’ with city
Woman backs into Cedar Rapids police department’s red Jeep
Corbett announcing new naming rights deal with U.S. Cellular Center for arena, convention center
Subject of Hawk Alert at University of Iowa found in Washington County
Orlan LoveOrlan Love, The Gazette's outdoor writer since 1994, graduated from Marquette University in 1977 with a degree in journalism, after [...] |
|
Concealed weapons permits increase by 154 percent
State relaxed permit law a year ago; permits now number 99,900-plus
Multimedia
Photo: HANDGUN SHOOTERS
Kelly Kellner of Cedar Rapids checks the sights on a revolver as she practices at the indoor shooting range at the Izaak Walton League on Saturday, Jan. 21, in northeast Cedar Rapids. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
CEDAR RAPIDS — For reasons ranging from personal security to “because I can,” the number of Iowans with permits to carry concealed weapons increased 154 percent during the first year of relaxed laws governing their issuance.
Dennis Rosekrans, 63, of rural Cedar Rapids — one of more than 60,000 Iowans who’ve secured permits in the year since Iowa went from a “may issue” to a “shall issue” state — said the main reason he obtained one is that the Legislature made it easier to do.
Rosekrans said the law change enabled him to act upon his long-held interest in taking responsibility for his and his family’s defense.
Melissa Halserty, 43, and Kelly Kellner, 41, friends and neighbors in southwest Cedar Rapids, say concern about safety and security in their homes inspired them to seek a license to carry a handgun.
“We’ve had three recent home invasions in our neighborhood, and my husband has been after me to learn how to protect myself,” Halserty said.
Instructor Cyndee Godlove (from left) demonstrates a shooting stance to Melissa Halferty and Kelly Kellner on Jan. 21 at the Izaak Walton League shooting range in Cedar Rapids. Halferty and Kellner have permits to carry concealed handguns but say they want the guns for safety at home. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
“It’s not the worst neighborhood in town, but it’s not the best, either,” said Kellner, whose husband often works an overnight shift. “I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
At the beginning of 2011, 39,397 Iowans had permits to carry concealed weapons, secured during an era in which county sheriffs had considerable discretion over their issuance.
At the end of 2011, with the sheriffs’ discretion largely nullified by the law, that number had climbed to 99,932, with more 2011 permits still trickling into the state database, said Sam Knowles, bureau chief of the Iowa Department of Public Safety.
That surge — during which the percentage of Iowans with a permit to carry increased from 1.3 percent to 3.3 percent — has been “a bit of a phenomenon,” Knowles said.
“Just the widespread general awareness that it is available led a lot of people to think about (obtaining a permit), but in the end, I couldn’t tell you why” the response has been so dramatic, he said.
“Honestly, I was not surprised at the increase,” said Jeff Burkett, president of the Iowa Firearms Coalition, which lobbies and advocates for the right to keep and bear arms. “I fully expected (the number of Iowa permit holders) to reach 100,000 by the end of last year.”
In Linn County, where the number of permits increased 183 percent — from 1,871 to 5,298 — during 2011, Sheriff Brian Gardner said widespread publicity surrounding the law change was the biggest factor.
“People found out how easy it was to get one and took advantage,” Gardner said.
Many Iowans “got permits just because they can,” said Lonny Pulkrabek, sheriff of Johnson County, which registered more than a fourfold increase in carry permits — from 552 to 2,270 — during the past year.
Pulkrabek and other informed observers say many of the permit holders have no intention of ever carrying their weapons in public.
Halserty and Kellner, who were practicing their marksmanship Saturday at the Izaak Walton League indoor shooting range in Cedar Rapids, said they fall into that category.
“I just want to feel more competent that I could handle a dangerous confrontation if one ever occurred,” Halserty said.
Pulkrabek, a critic of the law, said Johnson County issued 381 permits last year to people with criminal records that did not include felony convictions or other disqualifies specified in the law. “I probably would have denied a good portion of them if I still had discretion,” he said.
Knowles at the Department of Public Safety said he had heard of only a few untoward incidents involving people with permits to carry, mainly drunken driving arrests of people carrying weapons.
Pulkrabek and Gardner said they still worry about the law’s lack of a requirement that applicants demonstrate proficiency with a weapon before being granted a permit.
So does Bob Godlove, a 20-year handgun instructor at the Izaak Walton League in Cedar Rapids, which for many years conducted all the training classes, including range qualification, for Linn and Johnson County weapons permit applicants.
The league, which trained 300 applicants in 2011, still requires range qualification before training certificates are signed.
“I was in favor of the ‘shall issue’ law, but I am not at all in favor of giving a permit to anyone who steps up and wants one,” Godlove said.
Related articles
- Iowa weapons permit applications up 170 percent in 2011 (thegazette.com)
Now Iowa needs to further protect it’s citizens by restricting access to the names of concealed weapons permit holders to law enforcement and the courts. These laws exist in several other States, where they discovered perps were using these lists to “shop” for much desired weapons, or people who might be engaged in business with valuables or large amounts of money. Concealed means exactly that, it’s no ones business except law enforcement and the courts who is authorized to carry a weapon.
We can’t have people running around carring shootin irons where ever they want. Why there will be blood in the streets and everybody just blasting away at one another…….Did’nt happen did it as all of the critics of the changes in the law predicted. And by the way the crime rate in Waterloo-Cedar Fall and Black Hawk county dropped 12% last year (WCF Couried) Coincident? I think not.
Alarming statistics.
And Charlie Noble, you can’t be serious when you suggest that the citizenry should not have access to records that reveal who has a concealed gun permit. The public has every right to know who is carrying a gun about in public.
And no, it’s not over with yet. Blood may still run in the streets once everyone and his brother is carrying a weapon. It’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Roughly 6% of the adult population of Iowa is hardly “everyone and his brother”. What purpose does it serve the public to know who has carry permits? A person with a carry permit can choose whether to conceal the weapon or carry it openly, that choice is theirs.
Ann, Do I have a right to be made publically aware of anything you possess with a value greater that $500.00? How about listing every vehicle owner of a car capable of exceeding the posted speed limits? If you own that high powered car we may need to watch you more closely than the average citizen?
Ann is correct. It is a matter of public record.
Anyone can file a FOI to see who is holding a permit to carry, how much you pay on property taxes, or if there is a convicted child molester living in your neighborhood.
If you don’t want to be on the grid you better learn how to live OFF the grid.
Well Julie pleased you’re still participating. I already know how to stay off the grid. I am not a CCW permitee. I do believe the names being posted is /should be illegal. A legal CCW holder is not a criminal in any way like a convicted molester.
Joseph, if you were off the grid you would’nt be posting here.
“Blood may still run in the streets.” Would that please you Ann Smith?
“The public has every right to know who is carrying a gun about in public.”
What useful purpose does that serve?
I live in the St. Louis area now, and in general have no objection to gun ownership, but I don’t think most of my fellow citizens have any business carrying guns around. They are not police or military trained, and are more likely to hurt themselves or someone else than an armed criminal. I would love to know what my fellow Iowans would consider a “dangerous neighborhood” or “dangerous area” in Iowa where you would need to pack heat. I have had to work in areas around St. Louis where the locals would keep Iowa’s “criminals” as house pets.
If you have any questions about the CWP law or training contact http://www.e2c.us or 1-866-371-6111 and the Instructors at Equip 2 Conceal will be happy to help you.
I hardly think the St. Louis crop of criminals could tame the Iowa crop, at least in the IC and CR areas. That’s because in eastern IA (predominatnly IC and Cr) most of the criminals are not from Iowa, they are rolling westward from Chicago to set up shop (hello section 8 housing, but that’s not anhother story). The feds would tell you the same thing, as we recently had some of America’s most wanted, from Chicago, with last known address as CR. One should ask, just what draws a thug on the run from Chicago to hold out in Cedar Rapids, Iowa? Bottom line, permits simply don’t leave unfettered discretion to a local sheriff as to who should be able to protect themselves. Ask the Jacolyn Park area residents who is protecting them.
“One should ask, just what draws a thug on the run from Chicago to hold out in Cedar Rapids, Iowa?”
Criminey: speaking from experience, there are many “thugs” who come here to start new lives. I know, I’ve taught a couple of them, Or, I could tell the story of the Army vet who enlisted to get away from a gang, learned discipline, got a focus in his life, and is now earning a degree.
If you allow yourself to be frightened by a shaved head, tattoos, cornrows, boisterous speaking style, urban fashions, and yes, skin darker than yours, you are cheating yourself of an opportunity to learn from and connect to another human being.
Yes, there are criminals out there, including the ones who blend right in while they cook and sell meth, damaging thmselves, others, and their communities.
But THOSE folks are from Iowa, so it’s okay, right!?
It’s ALL about fear of the “other,” Jeff.
It’s STILL bleepin’ ridiculous…
Or put another way, the fear of the unknown.
prior to moving to Ohio a decade ago i had lived in Iowa most of my life. since my earliest recollections conceled weapons permits were available at the discretion of the county sheriff. this was about the least equitable way possible for them to be issued. in most counties you had to prove to the sheriff that you had a real serious reason to carry, unless you were the sheriff’s buddy then you could often get the permit regardless.
Ohio became a “shall issue” state before Iowa and the blood running in the streets here in Columbus is not the result of legal guns but because of gang/drug related violence. the police here are forced to shoot a number of people every year but so far there have been only a couple “good” shootings by CCW armed citizens in this county.
as i don’t have the “shoot first and ask questions later” mentality that i think would be necessary, i don’t have a CCW, btw.
I might get a permit, just because I can. I don’t even own a handgun, but maybe I would get one. Its a great change overall, but I do think some range experience should be required. I doubt I would ever carry in public.
Thanks for a sensible post, Charles. I have a problem with the Second Amendment advocates who think their right to bear arms is absolute, and who feel they needn’t submit to a range qualification requirement, or even get a permit to pack.
I absolutely agree, Charles/Jeff
Jeff/Charles and Julie; There is not a proficiency requirement under the law, so if you want that to be part of the law, contact your congressmen/women. In this forum on this subject you will unlikely change anything. It currently is our absolute right!
“The public has every right to know who is carrying a gun about in public.”
That is total nonsense. Are you talking the Bill of Rights? You’re probably talking about the made up rights everyone seems to refer to when they want something but have no idea what they’re talking about or how stuff works.
So you think that legal people should have their info made public so others will know they are protecting themselves. Great way to look uneducated. Maybe you are thinking that every police officer, military person and security guard needs to put there info out there as well. That way all the law abiding citizens can be signaled out while the criminals go unnoticed. Maybe you are thinking the criminals need to put their name on a list too so you can watch them because you have that “right”.
“Blood may still run in the streets once everyone and his brother is carrying a weapon. It’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
Use Google and search for info before making such laughable statements. You already stated: “Alarming statistics” but provided none. I guess they are made up by you if you can’t back them up.
“Ann is correct. It is a matter of public record.”
It is right now. It will change in the future. The anti-gun advocates made it a point to try and bring shame on law abiding citizens by making the info public decades ago. Does anyone remember back in the early 90′s when the Gazette printed the names, address and phone numbers of the CCW holders? The only purpose of that was to cause drama and put the lives of the holders at risk.
I have first hand experience with anti-gun groups. Some are level headed but other local ones are total nut cases. I totally agree that a shooting requirement should be made to get a permit. It should be with the gun you are carrying, or the largest caliber of what you are carrying. I don’t know how many times I have been at a range and someone was shocked at how loud or powerful my gun was but they claim to own the same caliber and/or carry it sometimes.
If you have a gun that powerful it might be time to downsize.
Obviously police and military personal should be except from disclosure but the public should have full knowledge of who has a permit to carry.
And by the way, police and military display their guns in full public view not hidden somewhere in their clothing as the majority of permit holders do..
Ann Smith, Iowans have had the right to “Open Carry” for quite a number of years now. That did not change nor was it affected by the CCW law that went into effect January of 2011. Most do not “open carry as it would be like having $100 dollar bills hanging out of a pocket for everyone to see. To do so would be too inviting to some criminal who wants those hundreds, he is unwilling or unable to earn. Same with an open carried handgun, just too tempting for some lame brain crook. A gun so powerful it is loud is every gun without a silencer. (including a .22 if you are near or abeam of the muzzle when it’s fired.) If I were carrying a gun for protection of self or my family, I want it to be the largest caliber, highest capacity I can carry and use to stop the bad guys.
Joseph,
I’m well aware of the open carry law. It seems to me though that those who carry concealed are just too chicken to actually display their weapon in public. That’s the cowards way out…If you have a permit to carry, have enough guts to carry it openly.
Ann, your ignorance on the subject of concealed vs open carry is astounding. You should educate yourself more or just cut your losses and stop typing.
I believe in knowing your firearm inside and out. That should be required for the permit as well. What good is your weapon if it jams from misuse or no upkeep? It’s not like the movies. It will be much louder and, contrary to popular belief, no blood will run in the streets.
You should try shooting your weapon at least once with No hearing protection, or vision protection (yellow glasses). If you do not know what to expect with your weapon, do not carry it. You will not be wearing protective glass and hearing protection if you are forced to defend yourself. I have had 3 people in the last few months at a range I was at try what I recommended and all 3 failed. By failed, I mean they immediately swung around while lowering their weapon and grabbed their ear with their free hand. They all said “that was loud” and they had lost all comprehension to their surroundings with just 1 shot.
If your weapon scares you, try a different one. Don’t be a sheep and follow the cool image of “I have a .45” or whatever is popular nowadays. Carry something you can control and is capable of stopping an attack. There is also special frag ammo that will not penetrate walls. Great for home defense as you don’t have to worry about your neighbors being harmed while protecting yourself.
I carry. I usually am canceled to avoid the loonies that cause problems. I have my second amendment right restricted because of the un-educated public while their first amendment goes un-restricted. It’s like the statement goes:” An amendment not exercised is an amendment lost”.
Great points, mike!
Perhaps our right of free speech should be regulated. You have to qualify by writing an essay, submit that to a local authority and then and only then can you submit opinions to the public.
Your “free speech” IS regulated, Stan. You cannot slander or libel a person without facing consequences. Try walking into a church in the middle of a service, a class while it’s in session, a sales meeting at a business, and give a political harangue: you’ll get yourself busted. Go ahead and walk up to a cop, insult his parentage, personal hygiene, choice of sex partners, etc, and see what happens.
Sheesh…
Joel, please read more then the first line, I know it is regulated,. What I am suggesting is you have to be permitted, in the same way someone who carries a firearm does. You have to write and essay, proving you have the abiltiy. Then you would have to go to your local authority and apply for a permit to be able to speak/write openly in public. Before you say words dont harm or kill people remember that words can entice or insight a riot or people to do harm.
Sheesh.
The name is “Jeff,” and I DID read the entire post, Stan.
I disagree strongly that testing someone before they carry a deadly weapon in public abridges their freedom: you can be a complete klutz, and still shoot on a range. And, look at this forum: editors will delete comments which violate the rules, and the Gazette exercises editorial judgement (admittedly sometimes erratic!) in what it chooses to publish.
In my mind, reasonable requirements for CCW holders make sense.
Sheesh, again…
I would prefer all gun owners who have permits just strap on a holster and display their guns in full view for all to see when about in public… seems more fair then hiding them on your body..at least we would know who’s packing.,,what are you afraid of?
Ann;
If I have my loaded gun(s), concealed or otherwise, I am afraid of nothing!
I carry because cops are too heavy and when they are needed “they are minutes away.(several)
Just don’t shoot yourself in the foot, Barney…
Ann, for one I am sure law abiding gun owners who also have a CCP would prefer not to have 3-4 police cars and the possibility of being drawn down on for carrying a weapon in the open. On a side note, I did witness HOW a officer should react when approaching a CCP holder who had his weapon exposed ( in holster) because he had the audacity to remove his shirt because he was hot……and some kneejerk reaction by a passer by who saw the evil gun called the police. Gun was holstered. Gun was not in hand being brandished.
Ann, when tea partiers open carried at tea party events a couple years ago, to demonstrate their 2nd ammendment right, they were portrayed as volatile “whack jobs” by the mainstream media.
Do yourself a favor and stop typing. You don’t have any idea what you are talking about.
I suggest you get a weapon and get some training. And maybe even go through the permit apply process. Then maybe your opinion would be somewhat credible. Right now, you make no sense.
When the home invader shows up at your door, you’ll be wishing you had a weapon that night. Curling up in the fetal position will most likely only get you assaulted if not executed. But, thats your choice. Good luck to you.
Dave, I can gurantee you I will never own a weapon or train with one. That’s my personal preference because of an unpleasant experience I had in the past involving a gun.. And no, not all permit holders are the good guys.. I felt uneasy in the past even seeing a weapon but now feel that gun owners with permits to carry should display their weapons openly in public so at least we will know who is carrying..that seems only fair, doesn’t it?.
And what will that do? For every law abiding gun owner that carries in the open, there are probably 5 gang members, that carry concealed, no permit and with the serial number filed off the illegally obtained weapon. Just what result are you trying to obtain. The ability to identify a law abiding citizen? You’re putting a lot of effort into very little result.
Conversely, you should have to put a sign in your yard that states, “There are no firearms on this property.”
You want me to state publicly that I own and carry a firearm? Then you should have to state that you do not.
I’ll bet the scumbags show up at your door long before they do mine. Thanks for taking one for the team and diverting their attention away from us.
Be thank full we don’t live in that cesspool called New Jersey. All though, in reading some of the comments, there are some who would think they were “safer” under what New Jersey is trying to pass. http://www.nraila.org/legislation/state-legislation/2012/01/new-jersey-assembly-committee-to-consider-ammo-ban-more.aspx?s=&st=&ps=
http://www.tulsaworld.com/specialprojects/news/crimewatch/article.aspx?subjectid=450&articleid=20100716_11_AA110_ByMatt123176
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/local_news/Person-Shot-in-Gwinnett-Burglary-20110511-am-sd
http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500202_162-5949873.html
http://www.kfor.com/news/local/kfor-mother-shoots-intruder-20-minutes-police-arrive-20120106,0,4346944.story
Would all the ANTI- 2nd amendment, anti -gun, anti-self-protect….. rather the above stories had turned out differently??? With your rational, they would have.
Nicely played sir…..
Dave, I like your sign idea.
And Thanks.