spectr17
07-04-2001, 04:11 PM
State gun statistics deceptive. Large drop in applications does not mean fewer weapons sold.
By Maureen Groppe, Gannett News Service
WASHINGTON -- Indiana stood out this week when figures released by the Justice Department showed the state recorded the biggest drop nationally last year in applications to buy firearms.
But that doesn't mean fewer people are buying guns. It just means fewer are doing so through applications.
Since late 1998, Hoosiers have been able to bypass the application to buy a gun and its required background check if they have a license to carry a gun. You need a background check to get a license, but the license is good for four years.
That means a gun buyer could be convicted of an offense -- such as domestic abuse -- within those four years and still be able to buy a gun.
Bruce Bryant, administrative assistant for the Indiana State Police firearms section who compiles the statistics for the federal government, suspects people have figured out that it's easier to purchase weapons through the license instead of the permit.
Potential gun buyers in Indiana filled out 19,442 applications for weapons last year, a 25.8 percent drop from the 26,190 applications in 1999. But they applied for 83,396 state licenses to carry weapons last year, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
No records are kept on how many guns were bought last year by people who already had licenses to carry weapons.
Indiana reported three times as many applications in 2000 for "exempt carry permits," which can be used to exempt a gun buyer from a new background check when buying weapons, than did Texas, the state with the second highest number of such permits.
"I suspect that has a lot to do with why the (application) numbers went down," said Larry Greenfeld, acting director of the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Don Davis, owner of Don's Guns and a critic of the state's gun laws, said nearly 90 percent of the guns he sold last Saturday did not have to be reported to the government because the buyers had permits to carry guns.
"We simply write down the permit number and out the door they go," Davis said.
The number of licenses and applications do not indicate how many weapons are being purchased. In fact, Greenfeld said, one reason the number of applications declined in Indiana and the nation is people could be buying more guns per application.
Indiana rejected 1.7 percent of gun purchase applications last year, just under the 2 percent national rejection rate.
The state rejected a higher percentage -- 2.7 percent -- of applications for carry permits.
By Maureen Groppe, Gannett News Service
WASHINGTON -- Indiana stood out this week when figures released by the Justice Department showed the state recorded the biggest drop nationally last year in applications to buy firearms.
But that doesn't mean fewer people are buying guns. It just means fewer are doing so through applications.
Since late 1998, Hoosiers have been able to bypass the application to buy a gun and its required background check if they have a license to carry a gun. You need a background check to get a license, but the license is good for four years.
That means a gun buyer could be convicted of an offense -- such as domestic abuse -- within those four years and still be able to buy a gun.
Bruce Bryant, administrative assistant for the Indiana State Police firearms section who compiles the statistics for the federal government, suspects people have figured out that it's easier to purchase weapons through the license instead of the permit.
Potential gun buyers in Indiana filled out 19,442 applications for weapons last year, a 25.8 percent drop from the 26,190 applications in 1999. But they applied for 83,396 state licenses to carry weapons last year, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
No records are kept on how many guns were bought last year by people who already had licenses to carry weapons.
Indiana reported three times as many applications in 2000 for "exempt carry permits," which can be used to exempt a gun buyer from a new background check when buying weapons, than did Texas, the state with the second highest number of such permits.
"I suspect that has a lot to do with why the (application) numbers went down," said Larry Greenfeld, acting director of the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Don Davis, owner of Don's Guns and a critic of the state's gun laws, said nearly 90 percent of the guns he sold last Saturday did not have to be reported to the government because the buyers had permits to carry guns.
"We simply write down the permit number and out the door they go," Davis said.
The number of licenses and applications do not indicate how many weapons are being purchased. In fact, Greenfeld said, one reason the number of applications declined in Indiana and the nation is people could be buying more guns per application.
Indiana rejected 1.7 percent of gun purchase applications last year, just under the 2 percent national rejection rate.
The state rejected a higher percentage -- 2.7 percent -- of applications for carry permits.