Firearm Permit Requests Surge in Newtown Ahead of New Gun Laws

The Wall Street Journal reports that the number of people seeking permits to buy firearms in Newtown has surged with more than 200 people in Newtown have received new local pistol permits through July. This number surpasses the 171 new permits issued for all of last year. The permits are prerequisites for Connecticut permits that allow people to purchase and carry pistols as well as rifles or shotguns.

"I think people realize that you can't call the police all the time and expect them to save you," said Newtown resident Bill Stevens, 48 years old, an avid hunter who owns more than a dozen firearms. "It's sinking in to some folks that 'I need to take responsibility for keeping my family safe.' "

Like the rest of the nation, Connecticut has seen a steady increase in firearm transactions over the past decade. The Journal reports that according to the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection processed authorizations for the sale of 127,000 firearms—including pistols, rifles and shotguns—in 2012, more than double the number authorized in 2000.  If the current pace continues, the state will surpass last year's total by October.

Once again, the gun ban lobby took the opportunity to claim that all those new gun purchases are being made by existing gun owners.

"What seems like inconsistent data [between gun sales and gun ownership] may make a little more sense if you realize the bulk of guns that are purchased are purchased by people that already own guns," said Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research. Presidential elections—which can spur fears of a change in policy—and mass shootings typically result in surges in gun sales, he added.

Tom Gresham, host of the weekly three-hour radio program Gun Talk, mentioned on his program a couple of weeks ago that one manufacturer told him based on product warranty cards received, clearly 25% of their sales are being made to new first time gun owners. So, folks like Webster can keep deluding themselves that firearms are being purchased by a shrinking market, but we have the facts on our side.

NRA Regains Footing After Rough Start

The Hill Blog Briefing Room has this post today titled NRA Gains Upper Hand on Obama making the case that after a tough start following the Newtown school shooting, NRA has overtaken Obama on the issue of gun control.

The powerful gun lobbying group had stumbled in the immediate wake of December's Newtown, Conn., grade-school massacre, launching a blistering attack on opponents that alienated even some NRA supporters and upped the odds of Obama moving tougher gun laws through Congress.

But three months later, the NRA has regained its footing, rallying gun owners and lawmakers against new gun controls in a fierce lobbying effort that appears to be paying dividends on Capitol Hill.

Now that we are debating specific policy, NRA is on turf that it is more comfortable defending.  It didn't hurt that NRA also came in possession of this document showing none of Obama's proposals would prevent future mass shootings or reduce crime.

White House Lays Out What Gun Control Obama Would Support

Politico has this report on what White House press spokesmen Jay Carney said during this afternoon's press briefing:

Kopel Writes about Guns, Mental Illness and Newtown

Maybe Virginia Senator Mark Warner, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, and now Republican Senator Marco Rubio should have read Dave Kopel's Op/Ed in yesterday's Wall Street Journal before jumping on the modern sporting rifle ban bandwagon:

Back in the mid-1960s, in most states, an adult could walk into a store and buy an AR-15 rifle, no questions asked. Today, firearms are the most heavily regulated consumer product in the United States. If someone wants to purchase an AR-15 or any other firearm, the store must first get permission for the sale from the FBI or its state counterpart. Permission is denied if the buyer is in one of nine categories of "prohibited persons," including felons, domestic-violence misdemeanants, and persons who have been adjudicated mentally ill or alcoholic.

And for those talking about bans on ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds:

Nor are magazines holding more than 10 rounds something new. They were invented decades ago and have long been standard for many handguns. Police officers carry them for the same reason that civilians do: Especially if a person is attacked by multiple assailants, there is no guarantee that a 10-round magazine will end the assault.

Read Kopel's entire article.  He makes some similar points that Western Idaho professor Clayton Cramer makes in this article.