Waco Trib Article on CHL's

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In case you missed the front page article in Saturdays Waco Tribune, i scanned it for all to read.

The article states 63 people working on licenses, break down: includes 12 new full time temporary employees, and 6 full time staffers.

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The online version, Registration required.
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/ne ... enses.html

Saturday, May 17, 2008

By Erin Quinn

Tribune-Herald staff writer

Sixty-year-old Gail Kelly often carries a loaded handgun in her purse while running errands.

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The China Spring office employee said it doesn’t scare her to have something so deadly next to her wallet and lipstick.

It would scare her not to.

“The police can’t always get to you in time,� Kelly said. “If seconds matter, they’re minutes away.�

Statewide, there is a swell of interest in obtaining a concealed handgun license from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

In 2006, the DPS reported that 864 McLennan County residents applied for a license. In 2007, that number jumped to 1,015.

DPS reports that 40,545 Texans have applied for a license by the end of April this year, up sharply from 33,089 applications by the same time last year.

Wacoans Jerry and Linda Harvey are joining that trend.

Jerry Harvey, a 62-year-old businessman, said dire headlines prompted the couple to each apply for a concealed handgun license.

Church shootings. Mall shootings. School shootings.

“I think it’s just being insecure about a lot of things,� he said.

Hugh Riley, a lecturer in psychology and neuroscience at Baylor University, says the statistic doesn’t surprise him.

“We’re living in difficult times right now,� he said. “The school shootings, the war in Iraq.

“Science and technology haven’t really answered our basic questions as to what our role in society is, and how we get over these difficult economic times with foreclosures and the high cost of gasoline.�

And so a gun provides peace of mind.

“It’s kind of like going to get ice cream when you’re feeling depressed,� Riley said. “It’s comfort food.�

The jump in interest has caused a backlog for the DPS, said spokeswoman Tela Mange.

There are 63 people working on issuing licenses and renewals, she said, which includes 12 full-time, temporary employees and six full-time staffers who have been added to meet the demand.

“It’s not enough to keep up,� Mange said. “Our temporary employees are working full-time. Our full-time employees are working overtime. They’re all working really, really hard. It’s hard to bail all the water out of the boat.�

Wait time for the state to issue a new license was typically 60 days. Now it’s 90.

Renewal licenses, by statute, should take 45 days. Now it’s 80.

Gary Hammond, part owner of Guns R Us on 2111 La Salle Ave., said he hasn’t seen a notable increase in business because of the surge of interest in obtaining a license. But the rise in would-be gun carriers makes sense to him.

“People just don’t know what the future is going to bring,� he said. “Who knows what people are going to do? We haven’t seen the end of anything yet in terms of terrorist threats, and people coming across the border.�

Parnell McNamara, a retired 33-year veteran of the U.S. Marshal’s Service, teaches about 30 people each month as a certified concealed handgun license instructor in Waco.

He said he receives about five calls each day from Central Texans seeking a license and instructs about 30 people each month.

Charles Bates, a retired DPS highway trooper, recently retired as an instructor.

“I know it’s increased,� he said. “I’ve had to turn down $5,000 worth of business since I retired.�

There are eight DPS-certified instructors for concealed handgun licensing in Waco, according to the DPS Web site. Most of them are active or former law enforcement officers, McNamara said.

“A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone,� he said. “If you have your concealed handgun license, you are the first responder. How many times does a cop come up to you and say, ‘Hey, you’re being robbed’? It doesn’t happen.�

He softens his voice when he speaks of why teaching the concealed handgun class means so much.

“I was in law enforcement more than 30 years, and I always look back at my cases and think ‘What if? What if they had had protection against the bad guys.’ �

John Hambrick, a Waco police officer, also attributes the rise in interest to random shootings in the news, the uncertainty of the presidential election and the fact that there are simply not enough police officers.

“The police can’t be everywhere,� he said. “We just can’t. Just look at the size of the city. People are going to have to take responsibility for their own safety.�

Marsha McCartney, the state’s spokeswoman for the Brady Campaign, a nationwide gun violence prevention organization, lives in Dallas and said she has never felt the need for a gun.

“It’s a phenomenon, I think, in America,� she said. “I mean, what are we afraid of? Why do we feel like we need to have guns to keep us safe? That’s a mystery.�

She said the increase in interest “saddens� her.

“It’s a real sad commentary on our world — that we don’t feel safe without a gun,� she said.

Guns, Baylor’s Riley said, are indeed playing the role of a crutch.

“No one’s ever safe,� he said. “It’s an illusion. We’re feeling incredibly vulnerable, but our risk of being accosted on the street is relatively low.�

McCartney said, however, that she’s pleased to hear that people are going about getting a gun through a channel such as the state, which requires an extensive background check and an instruction course. Of course, she said, that doesn’t always matter.

“My position is more guns often lead to more tragedies,� McCartney said. “Many people that have used their gun use it in a moment of rage. The moment before they used it, they weren’t a criminal and had passed their background check.�

McNamara said much of his concealed handgun instruction is centered on how to calm a dangerous encounter in ways to avoid using the firearm.

Kelly, the China Spring woman who occasionally totes a gun in her car and in her purse, said she hopes that the increase in Texans carrying concealed handguns sends a message to criminals.

“Maybe they’ll think twice,� she said. “They might just end up going somewhere else.�