More than 40,000 Illinois state residents have applied for a gun permit this month, an increase of more than 500% over the same time period last year, according to Illinois State Police.
The rush of new applications has caused a backlog in the state’s processing, taking a mandatory 72-hour background check in the state and stretching it to more than a week.
More than 42,089 applications were submitted between June 1 and June 17 this year compared with just 7,000 for the same time period last year. That’s an increase of 501%. By contrast, there were 48,194 applications submitted in December, January and February combined.
Most surprising (or perhaps not surprising at all) is that many of the first time gun owners have political views can be described as liberal, and anti-gun.
“A 38-year-old man from Dixon — who didn’t want his name used, citing employment reasons — described himself as “a very liberal Democrat” who for decades has been “for most forms of gun control politically.” But since March, he’s been waiting for his first gun permit to arrive so he can keep his family safe, he said.
My views have recently changed, and I have accepted that the Second Amendment provides for the personal ownership and use of a firearm,” he said in an email. “The recent social unrest of a divisive president, the pandemic and dramatic rise in unemployment, and the more recent social unrest because of the way we police in this country have all been reasons that have prompted my recent application.” –Chicago Tribune
David Lombardo, a gun instructor and owner of the Safer USA, a firearm training and safety organization, says he’s had several students sign up for private training because “they don’t want anyone to know they’re doing the training, let alone going to buy a firearm.”
Photo by ElCapitanBSC via Flickr