Saturday, March 1, 2014

More Minnesotans Have Permits to Carry a Gun Than Ever Before

Star Tribune link

via ssgmarkcr:

  I came upon this article that is close to home for me.  Minnesota's carry permit has broken a new record with a total of over 165,000.  Stories like this are fairly common when the new legislative session starts.  The problem is that the media has a hard time portraying permit holders as a problem because the information on what little criminal behavior is committed is freely available, including data on when the permits are taken away. 

    Minnesota permit holders are also politically active, last year there was an attempt to pass legislation passed to ban assault weapons, high capacity magazines, and of course mandate universal background checks.  The turn-out by permit holders greatly outnumbered those supporting the legislation, and there were no confrontations.  And of course, most everyone exercised their prerogative to carry in the capitol.  I'm not sure if I'll be able to attend, but I have sent the required notification in to inform them of my intent to carry if I visit.
 
"Permits issued in Minnesota for carrying a firearm nearly doubled in 2013 vs. the previous year, state officials said Friday, helping push the number of active permit holders to its highest total ever measured.
About 20 percent of the 60,471 permits issued last year were renewals, which are required every five years, according to the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).

Also, the number of active permit holders has grown to 165,295, an increase of about one-third from the total of 125,339 a year ago at this time, the agency reported. Not everyone who has a permit is a gun owner.

The current number of permit holders is the highest ever measured by the BCA, said spokeswoman Jill Oliveira. The agency does not keep a day-by-day tally, but it gathers snapshot totals upon request. The previous high reported by the BCA upon request was 159,691 (on Nov. 26, 2013).

Sheriffs statewide reported 540 permits were denied in 2013, 28 suspended, 18 voided and 11 revoked, the BCA said."

9 comments:

  1. I discovered that this article was picked up by the other major newspaper in the metro area, and it provides some additional input from the local gun control advocacy group which lends some insight into their logic, if you can call it that.

    "The BCA report said 42 permit holders were convicted of domestic assault in 2013, a number that Martens said concerns her. She said it's "reflective of an ongoing concern we have about ... the fact that the screening is not good enough."
    Five of the domestic assault cases did not involve a gun; the other 37 were listed as not reported/unknown.
    "Whether or not the gun was used in these crimes is irrelevant, because people who are likely to commit those types of crimes should not be getting a permit in the first place," Martens said. "We just know that the presence of a gun increases the risk of domestic violence turning lethal."
    http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_25247609/minnesota-handgun-permits-nearly-double-2013?source=rss

    Let me repeat what is my opinion, the telling statement,

    "Whether or not the gun was used in these crimes is irrelevant, because people who are likely to commit those types of crimes should not be getting a permit in the first place," Martens said. "

    Of course, there is no mention as to how to determine which people are likely to commit these types of crimes. But it amounts to some sort of psychic preventative enforcement. Or perhaps a better term is psychotic.
    Minnesota does have a process for a Sheriff to deny a permit application if they believe an applicant is a danger to self or others. And the annual report details these instances. For example, out of the 1023 crimes committed by permit holders last year, 407 were traffic offenses of some sort.

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    1. Whatever those numbers are, they're just the tip of the iceberg. Many people plea bargain their charges, others are let off with a warning, many more get away with their criminal behavior completely. So, when looking at the number of convictions, we can roughly calculate what's really going on.

      About the traffic offenses, if they're drunk driving or road rage incidents, they should count as disqualifiers to concealed carry.

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    2. And if the Sheriff believes that the permit holder is a danger to themselves or others, then he can suspend or revoke the permit. He just has to be willing to back it up in court with this thing called evidence. The annual report published by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension details these events and whether the applicant/permit holder challenges it.
      Many denials are reversed on a second review because of incorrect data. For example, one disqualifier for a permit is if the applicant is listed on the Minnesota gang membership database. If you're denied because you have the same name as someone on the database, a closer review can correct things.
      As for DUIs, while not an immediate disqualifier, there are instances of repeat offenders being denied or revoked. Just as I've also seen a person denied due to being listed on the gang database successfully challenged the denial because he could document that he hadn't been involved in the gang for a long period of time.

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    3. According to the overactive fool, jaywalking should be a disqualify.

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    4. Really - you can't predict who will commit domestic violence?

      A family member is the chief of police in one of the larger and more affluent metro suburbs.

      It is not a surprise who is going to commit those acts of domestic violence; there is nearly always a pattern of disputes and disruptions and cop calls prior to the violence tipping point.

      Ditto the white supremacists and dangerous militia groups.

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    5. "It is not a surprise who is going to commit those acts of domestic violence; there is nearly always a pattern of disputes and disruptions and cop calls prior to the violence tipping point."

      You are correct DG, there is often a pattern which indicates a person leading towards making bad decisions and being prone to violence. And issuing officials have available to them the option of denying a permit if they believe an applicant or permit holder to be a danger to self or others.
      In fact, these denials and the details are listed in the BCA's annual report. The issuing official just has to be willing to justify the denial to a judge if their denial is appealed. And as shown in the reports, many choose not to appeal. Some do and the denial is either upheld, or overturned.

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  2. The inescapable fact here is that more people are getting licenses. Those people are not the danger that gun control freaks insist. But when you hate rights, facts are counterproductive.

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    1. Actually Campy, that is not true.

      Those gun permit people have been very much the headache predicted for law enforcement, for violence, etc.

      We would be much safer and happier and more civil with fewer firearms.

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    2. "Those gun permit people have been very much the headache predicted for law enforcement, for violence, etc."

      The following is a recent quote from Hennepin County Sheriif Rick Stanek. Hennepin county has the city of Minneapolis within its jurisdiction and has the largest number of carry permits in the state at over 23,000 as of the most recent annual report from the BCA,

      "Stanek says he has confidence in the appeals process.
      "Gun ownership is not a privilege, but a right guaranteed by the Constitution," Stanek said. "And the due process afforded within that, in terms of the appeal or the granting of a permit, goes through the courts and a judge makes a determination and we're fine with that."
      Stanek also said gun permit holders are generally very responsible and law-abiding people."

      http://www.mprnews.org/story/2013/03/01/law/bca-gun-carry-permit

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