Wisconsin reached over 300,000 active concealed carry weapon permits in 2016. The number of permits issued reached 300,000 by the end of March, but the number of active permits is a bit behind the number of permits issued. People die. People move. People forget to renew their permit.
I obtained information on the number of active permits from the Wisconsin Department of Justice. As of 1 January, 2016, there were 276,011 active permits.
Three months later, as of 1 July, 2016, the number of active permits was at 305,463.
92.5% of all applications received in the first six months were approved for new permits. Some of there rest were for renewals and others had insufficient documentation or incomplete forms. The breakdown for 2016 will not be available for a few months, but in 2015, less than 1.5% were turned down for legal reasons ranging from not being a resident of Wisconsin to a felony conviction. One person out of the 45,549 applications in 2015 was turned down because their check bounced.
That correlates with my experience in teaching concealed carry courses in Arizona for 15 years. In that entire period, I never had a problem with bounced checks. The people who decide to legally carry guns are incredibly responsible.
A website dedicated to new applications and renewals was made available to the public on 1 July, 2016. It had the capability to make applications for new permits and renewals easier and faster than it has been previously.
People who prefer to apply by mail will still be able to.
About 10,000 applications were submitted from 1 July to 31 October.
An additional 9,900 new permits were approved, bringing the total active permits in Wisconsin to 315,363 at the end of September. At that rate, Wisconsin can expect to have between 325,000 and 330,000 permits by the end of the year.
I have only been able to find one permit holder who was convicted of any sort of homicide in the five years of the Wisconsin program so far. That means that Wisconsin permit holders have a homicide rate among the lowest in the world, about .1 per 100,000 per year.
The world rate for homicides is 7.6 per 100,000. The U.S. rate was 4.5 per 100,000 for 2014. The Wisconsin rate was 2.9 per 100,000. Japan's rate was .3 per 100,000, still three times higher than the rate for Wisconsin Concealed Permit holders.
Wisconsin permit holders have been involved in numerous cases of self defence and the defense of others. One of the more famous cases occurred during an attempt at an armed robbery in a Milwaukee barbershop.
Of course, one homicide over five years is a very small number. Another unjustified homicide or two could happen at any time, increasing the figure dramatically.
The extremely low rate shows the success of the Wisconsin permit system, which is one of the most liberal, least expensive, most efficiently run, and easiest to use of any in the United States.
The Wisconsin DOJ has done an excellent job.
The legislature could improve the system where the DOJ cannot. Open the system so that people from other states could apply. Utah and Florida get the greatest share of out of state permits now, and Wisconsin does not get any.
The Wisconsin DOJ could easily gain a few million dollars a year for its budget, if the legislature would allow people outside of Wisconsin to apply for permits. I grew up in Wisconsin, and spend time there. I have Arizona and Florida permits. I would gladly pay $50 to obtain a Wisconsin permit.
©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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1 comment:
That is one of the reasons I live in Arizona, I refuse to get a permit to exercise a constitutional right. United states constitution article four paragraph two. clearly says we have our rights any where we are in this country. No state has the authority to deny that right or those rights. the second amendment is our national right to self defense, our national right to keep and bare. Driving may be a privilege but the right to self defense is clearly a right. this entire permit issue is B/S. the only thing it accomplishes is revenue. that revenue only supports a government that is too big and intrusive to begin with. supporting any permit schemes only hurts the second amendment effort. everyone has the right to self defense. even drivers are dangerous at times. the only way to control every body's actions is to require everybody to wear a straight jacket with a short tether line. In this country we are free to travel anywhere we please and our rights go with us. back in the dust bowl days California lost a case when it tried to keep people out. I believe the term is eminent domain we can go any where we please. any state has no right to deny the right of self defense. or infringe on our second amendment. it also violates interstate commerce. One state can not tax another state. We are first US citizens then we are residents of the state we live in. Our rights exist where ever we are and the US supreme court has ruled it is an individual right.
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