e***@netpath.net
2009-06-01 04:58:17 UTC
FROM YESTERDAY'S NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT HERALD:
With its sleek lines and light weight, an AR-15-style weapon is
considered desirable as a home protection tool because it’s
maneuverable.
It looks like a machine gun. But with models as light as six pounds,
it can be leveled at an assailant without tiring the carrier. In the
hands of an experienced marksmen, it’s highly reliable at hitting a
target.
Local firearms dealers said they haven’t been able to keep that type
of firearm on the shelves for months. Scott Hoffman said that since
November he hasn’t been able to immediately fill orders for items
considered personal weapons. He’s back-ordered in certain kinds of
ammunition, too.
“Gun sales have at least doubled,” said the longtime owner of
Hoffman’s Gun Center on the Berlin Turnpike. “Business is up at least
50 percent and that’s in a bad economy. It shows you how scared people
are.”
Across town at the Newington Gun Exchange, business is equally brisk.
In the past six months, “Any type of military-style firearm has been
selling well,” Lenk said. “We’ve been lucky to have any to put on the
wall. It’s finally beginning to taper off in the past few weeks.”
In a sluggish economy when a record number of businesses are failing
or cutting back, both gun shops said their sales have been booming
since the November election of the first Democratic president in eight
years.
The rush of first-time gun owners has tripled in some places, leaving
local and state police struggling to process the overflow of pistol-
permit applications.
“I’ve seen it as high as 15 a week,” said Plainville Lt. Brian
Mullins, who is responsible for conducting background checks on all
pistol-permit applicants in his town. “That’s a lot for a town that
usually sees four to five a week. We’ve had five or six people come in
one day.”
Gun salesmen like Lenk and Hoffman are attributing the boost in sales
to a collision of political and economic forces. Lenk said business
started picking up when it became apparent that Barack Obama, who is
perceived as promoting tighter gun restrictions, might win the
election.
At the same time, as the economy soured, fears of increased crime
created a boom in a business that has traditionally been steady but
not necessarily given to dramatic spikes.
“Traditionally when the economy is bad, crime goes up,” Hoffman said.
“Add to that, that everyone who is in charge of our government doesn’t
want us to have guns, and guns sales have at least doubled.”
Lenk also added that he thought dramatic crimes like the Petit home
invasion that left a Cheshire mother and her two daughters dead after
two felons broke into their home in July 2007 are spearheading the
sales.
“That case resulted in the destruction of an entire family,” Lenk
said. “In those few seconds you have to do something to save yourself
because in the final analysis all the police are going to do is clean
up.”
State Police, who issue state permits after individuals pass their
local background checks, said they are feeling the impact.
“I think people have different reasons for wanting to buy guns right
now,” said State Trooper William Tate, who has seen lines out the door
for candidates waiting to have their permits processed. “There was
speculation that the federal government will change legislation, but
Connecticut already has some of the strictest gun laws in the country.
There may have been a false lack of security and it’s probably
unlikely the laws will change as drastically as people think.”
State police have processed nearly double the requests for new pistol
permits in the past six months than they did in the same period a year
ago. In April they processed 1,945 new applications — a jump of over
1,000 when compared to the year before. May’s figures dropped to 1,246
— an increase of 400 over the year before.
The way the state’s pistol permitting laws work, applicants must first
apply in their town of residence with the local police department
after successfully completing a safety course. The application process
includes fingerprinting for a background check. The local police chief
is ultimately responsible for determining if a candidate should
receive a permit.
Those with felony convictions, certain other convictions, or a history
of mental instability are automatically prohibited from owning or
carrying a gun. All successful local permittees then have 60 days to
seek a state permit through the State Police Special Licensing and
Firearms Unit.
The local permitting process can take up to eight weeks by state law.
Police departments must have staff available to take fingerprints and
do background checks. Mullins admitted that in the crush he fell
behind the eight-week guideline, but has since caught up. His
Plainville department has also bumped up to three days a week the when
people can show up to be fingerprinted.
“It’s added significantly to my clerical duties,” said Mullins, who
works in the detective division investigating serious crimes and
functions as the department’s public information officer.
He estimates that he’s seeing triple the number of applications pass
by his desk since last year.
“It’s a phenomenon that I’ve certainly noticed,” he said. “Obviously
people are having safety concerns in some way.”
Several new and veteran gun owners were contacted but declined to
comment citing fears that they’ll be judged by friends and co-workers.
Most gun dealers also declined to allow The Herald to interview
customers.
Farmington and Berlin police said their permit applications have
doubled in the past six months over the same period the year before.
New Britain police, who limit applications to five or six a week due
to the work involved, are scheduling fingerprint sessions into
September.
“We feel as though we have to stick with the five or six people a week
guideline,” said New Britain Detective Harold Gannon, who does
fingerprints one day a week and conducts background checks. “We’ve
always had five or six people a week come in but what we’re seeing now
is that we have to schedule them out farther.”
At the same time, New Britain Police Chief William Gagliardi told city
police commissioners in his monthly report that the crime rate in the
city has continued to go down over the past few months.
Tate said for the first time in recent history, he watched as people
lined up outside the lobby of the State Police Middletown office to
get permits in February. “Considering the times and that everyone
seems to be having financial problems, gun shops seem to be pretty
busy,” Tate observed. “It used to be when you walked in on a Saturday
there would be a few customers standing at the counter. Now you can
see at least five or six, even during off times when you don’t expect
people to be looking for guns.”
Lenk said the best sellers have been self-defense firearms, including
military rifles like the AR-15 and handguns.
“All the gun manufacturers are going crazy. They’re backlogged on
anything resembling a self-defense type firearm,” Lenk said.
Has Obama tightened gun laws?
By LISA BACKUS
Staff writer
Area gun sellers are attributing a sharp increase in sales to the
presidential election of Barack Obama and fears that he’ll tighten gun
laws.
But a check of his recent record on gun control issues shows he may be
more moderate on the issue than most gun owners think.
While the spike in sales started the week of the November election,
Obama was widely quoted during a California speech in April 2008 as
saying “bitter Americans” in small towns “cling to their guns and
religion.”
But about two months later when the United States Supreme Court struck
down a total ban on handguns in Washington, D.C., his response was
more careful.
“I have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the rights
of individuals to bear arms, but I also identify with the need for
crime-ravaged communities to save their children from the violence
that plagues our streets through common-sense, effective safety
measures,” he said then.
He noted that conservative Justice Anton Scalia acknowledged that the
right to bear arms is “not absolute and subject to reasonable
regulations enacted by local communities to keep their streets safe.”
Last month The New York Times editorially criticized the Obama White
House for failing to advance a “badly overdue push for sensible gun
control,” noting it “has not been a profile in courage.”
Bell City Gun Club President Walt Sinnott also pointed to Obama’s
recent signing of a bill that would allow assembled guns in national
parks.
“He’s obviously not as anti-gun as some of his counterparts,” Bell
said.
But he also said that most people believe Obama’s presidency is likely
to lead to tightened legislation including bans on some types of guns
now readily available — which is driving sales of all types of weapons
through the roof.
“There’s a huge fear factor going on now,” said Sinnott who has been a
gun enthusiast for 30 years. “There’s a fear of government trying to
regulate what people can now legally own. It’s literally leaving
shortages in all the items that you need to reload a gun. Primer and
powder are getting harder to buy because even if a shop gets in 1,000
items by the end of the day, it’s all gone.”
With its sleek lines and light weight, an AR-15-style weapon is
considered desirable as a home protection tool because it’s
maneuverable.
It looks like a machine gun. But with models as light as six pounds,
it can be leveled at an assailant without tiring the carrier. In the
hands of an experienced marksmen, it’s highly reliable at hitting a
target.
Local firearms dealers said they haven’t been able to keep that type
of firearm on the shelves for months. Scott Hoffman said that since
November he hasn’t been able to immediately fill orders for items
considered personal weapons. He’s back-ordered in certain kinds of
ammunition, too.
“Gun sales have at least doubled,” said the longtime owner of
Hoffman’s Gun Center on the Berlin Turnpike. “Business is up at least
50 percent and that’s in a bad economy. It shows you how scared people
are.”
Across town at the Newington Gun Exchange, business is equally brisk.
In the past six months, “Any type of military-style firearm has been
selling well,” Lenk said. “We’ve been lucky to have any to put on the
wall. It’s finally beginning to taper off in the past few weeks.”
In a sluggish economy when a record number of businesses are failing
or cutting back, both gun shops said their sales have been booming
since the November election of the first Democratic president in eight
years.
The rush of first-time gun owners has tripled in some places, leaving
local and state police struggling to process the overflow of pistol-
permit applications.
“I’ve seen it as high as 15 a week,” said Plainville Lt. Brian
Mullins, who is responsible for conducting background checks on all
pistol-permit applicants in his town. “That’s a lot for a town that
usually sees four to five a week. We’ve had five or six people come in
one day.”
Gun salesmen like Lenk and Hoffman are attributing the boost in sales
to a collision of political and economic forces. Lenk said business
started picking up when it became apparent that Barack Obama, who is
perceived as promoting tighter gun restrictions, might win the
election.
At the same time, as the economy soured, fears of increased crime
created a boom in a business that has traditionally been steady but
not necessarily given to dramatic spikes.
“Traditionally when the economy is bad, crime goes up,” Hoffman said.
“Add to that, that everyone who is in charge of our government doesn’t
want us to have guns, and guns sales have at least doubled.”
Lenk also added that he thought dramatic crimes like the Petit home
invasion that left a Cheshire mother and her two daughters dead after
two felons broke into their home in July 2007 are spearheading the
sales.
“That case resulted in the destruction of an entire family,” Lenk
said. “In those few seconds you have to do something to save yourself
because in the final analysis all the police are going to do is clean
up.”
State Police, who issue state permits after individuals pass their
local background checks, said they are feeling the impact.
“I think people have different reasons for wanting to buy guns right
now,” said State Trooper William Tate, who has seen lines out the door
for candidates waiting to have their permits processed. “There was
speculation that the federal government will change legislation, but
Connecticut already has some of the strictest gun laws in the country.
There may have been a false lack of security and it’s probably
unlikely the laws will change as drastically as people think.”
State police have processed nearly double the requests for new pistol
permits in the past six months than they did in the same period a year
ago. In April they processed 1,945 new applications — a jump of over
1,000 when compared to the year before. May’s figures dropped to 1,246
— an increase of 400 over the year before.
The way the state’s pistol permitting laws work, applicants must first
apply in their town of residence with the local police department
after successfully completing a safety course. The application process
includes fingerprinting for a background check. The local police chief
is ultimately responsible for determining if a candidate should
receive a permit.
Those with felony convictions, certain other convictions, or a history
of mental instability are automatically prohibited from owning or
carrying a gun. All successful local permittees then have 60 days to
seek a state permit through the State Police Special Licensing and
Firearms Unit.
The local permitting process can take up to eight weeks by state law.
Police departments must have staff available to take fingerprints and
do background checks. Mullins admitted that in the crush he fell
behind the eight-week guideline, but has since caught up. His
Plainville department has also bumped up to three days a week the when
people can show up to be fingerprinted.
“It’s added significantly to my clerical duties,” said Mullins, who
works in the detective division investigating serious crimes and
functions as the department’s public information officer.
He estimates that he’s seeing triple the number of applications pass
by his desk since last year.
“It’s a phenomenon that I’ve certainly noticed,” he said. “Obviously
people are having safety concerns in some way.”
Several new and veteran gun owners were contacted but declined to
comment citing fears that they’ll be judged by friends and co-workers.
Most gun dealers also declined to allow The Herald to interview
customers.
Farmington and Berlin police said their permit applications have
doubled in the past six months over the same period the year before.
New Britain police, who limit applications to five or six a week due
to the work involved, are scheduling fingerprint sessions into
September.
“We feel as though we have to stick with the five or six people a week
guideline,” said New Britain Detective Harold Gannon, who does
fingerprints one day a week and conducts background checks. “We’ve
always had five or six people a week come in but what we’re seeing now
is that we have to schedule them out farther.”
At the same time, New Britain Police Chief William Gagliardi told city
police commissioners in his monthly report that the crime rate in the
city has continued to go down over the past few months.
Tate said for the first time in recent history, he watched as people
lined up outside the lobby of the State Police Middletown office to
get permits in February. “Considering the times and that everyone
seems to be having financial problems, gun shops seem to be pretty
busy,” Tate observed. “It used to be when you walked in on a Saturday
there would be a few customers standing at the counter. Now you can
see at least five or six, even during off times when you don’t expect
people to be looking for guns.”
Lenk said the best sellers have been self-defense firearms, including
military rifles like the AR-15 and handguns.
“All the gun manufacturers are going crazy. They’re backlogged on
anything resembling a self-defense type firearm,” Lenk said.
Has Obama tightened gun laws?
By LISA BACKUS
Staff writer
Area gun sellers are attributing a sharp increase in sales to the
presidential election of Barack Obama and fears that he’ll tighten gun
laws.
But a check of his recent record on gun control issues shows he may be
more moderate on the issue than most gun owners think.
While the spike in sales started the week of the November election,
Obama was widely quoted during a California speech in April 2008 as
saying “bitter Americans” in small towns “cling to their guns and
religion.”
But about two months later when the United States Supreme Court struck
down a total ban on handguns in Washington, D.C., his response was
more careful.
“I have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the rights
of individuals to bear arms, but I also identify with the need for
crime-ravaged communities to save their children from the violence
that plagues our streets through common-sense, effective safety
measures,” he said then.
He noted that conservative Justice Anton Scalia acknowledged that the
right to bear arms is “not absolute and subject to reasonable
regulations enacted by local communities to keep their streets safe.”
Last month The New York Times editorially criticized the Obama White
House for failing to advance a “badly overdue push for sensible gun
control,” noting it “has not been a profile in courage.”
Bell City Gun Club President Walt Sinnott also pointed to Obama’s
recent signing of a bill that would allow assembled guns in national
parks.
“He’s obviously not as anti-gun as some of his counterparts,” Bell
said.
But he also said that most people believe Obama’s presidency is likely
to lead to tightened legislation including bans on some types of guns
now readily available — which is driving sales of all types of weapons
through the roof.
“There’s a huge fear factor going on now,” said Sinnott who has been a
gun enthusiast for 30 years. “There’s a fear of government trying to
regulate what people can now legally own. It’s literally leaving
shortages in all the items that you need to reload a gun. Primer and
powder are getting harder to buy because even if a shop gets in 1,000
items by the end of the day, it’s all gone.”