Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
Some states and counties report a surge in applications for concealed weapons permits since the November election. All states but Illinois and Wisconsin allow concealed weapons, but requirements differ.
Applications already have hit a record this year in Clay County, Mo., where the sheriff’s office received 888 through June, compared with 863 in all of last year, Sheriff Bob Boydston says.
In the past, applicants tended to be middle-aged men, he says, but now include “grandmothers, older folks, young women, young men.”
Where lay a man’s fortune, there lay his heart….or some similar maxim…comes tumbling to the fore. Essentially, it means ‘put your money where your mouth is’. Thats what you’re seeing here. Pundits may say that Obama doesn’t want those guns that youre ‘clinging’ to but, as we see here, not everyone is buying that line. Same for the economy…people may want the economy to get better but they’re not taking chances. It is hoped that these people, in addition to getting their guns, are also getting all the other accoutrements and supplies that they’ll need to ride out this ‘bumpy’ economy.
Montana is kinda weird about concealed weapons. You only need a permit if youre within city limits (or a railroad or logging camp) and if youre engaged in an “outdoor activity” you dont need one at all. (I believe they intend that to mean hunting, fishing, hiking, etc. but Im sure a clever person could stretch that to include things like jogging, bicycling or something equally mundane.) I got mine years ago so I wouldnt have to go through the hassle of the NICS background check every time I wanted to buy a boomstick.
I don’t know why anyone is surprised at an increase in ‘pistol packing persons’ these days. Only the hopelessly short-sighted and the delusionally naive would think that the economic slide isn’t going to have violent and/or criminal implications.
Of course, little matters like armed security and situational awareness were sorted out in this household a long time ago. The NPR crowd would look at us and cry that “I won’t live in fear!” which is kinda funny since, by virtue of our lifestyle, we’re not really in fear of much of anything.
