More Virginians Applying for Concealed Handgun Permits

Virginia residents continue to file into circuit courts throughout the state at a record pace this year, according to statistics from more than 50 jurisdictions analyzed by the Harrisonburg Daily News-Record. According to the News-Record, in 2007, the number of concealed-weapon permits issued jumped roughly 60 percent from the previous year in Virginia. Numbers for the first six months of 2008, show that most jurisdictions are on pace to surpass those numbers.

My home county of Chesterfield, as well as Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties are all on pace to break records, according to local statistics. Fairfax County, a locality that has some very anti-gun elected officials (Ken Cuccinelli being the exception), 1,501 have been issued in the first six months of 2008; last year, 2,201 were issued; and, in 2006, 1,449.

Texas and other states have seen similar increases. While no one can say with certainly what is driving the increase, it is very possible that people have finally figured out that the job of the police is not to protect individuals; the job of self defense is the responsibility of the individual. High profile mass killings probably have also played a role in the increase. Finally, the uncertainty of this political year may also be playing a role in the uptick in applications. Vigilant gun owners know that the Supreme Court decision in D.C. vs Heller was razor thin. The next president may appoint as many as three new justices so it is critical that a pro-rights candidate win this year. The ticket of Barrack Obama and Joe Biden are no friends of gun owners and we must do all we can to see that they do not march into the White House on January 20, 2009.

The Obama campaign spokesman in Virginia is disputing that politics has anything to do with the increase in permit applications. Kevin Griffis, the Virginia communications director for the Obama campaign, told the News Record that there is no correlation between the increase in concealed-weapons permits and the presidential election, saying it’s “a Republican talking point.”

Griffs continued by calling the claim that Obama is anti-gun a “systematic smear effort by the NRA” and called the NRA “an arm of the Republican Party.” Citing the fact that 2007 was not a presidential election year, he said the NRA saying that Obama is anti-gun is ”just as absurd as the e-mails going around suggesting Barack is not Christian” and called the NRA claims in the advertisement false..

You can hear me discuss this article on NRANews' Daily News with Ginny Simone at 5:00PM today. The interview will likely replay on Cam and Company tonight around 9:40PM.