Handgun Carry Permit Statistics 2008

[netmindr]

Here is a link to the state's statistics on carry permits showing the number of issued, suspended, revoked and denied permits by month for the calendar year. The appendix in the back even shows totals through the first quarter of 2009. Unfortunately, those who oppose our rights don't like to be confused with the facts.



Also, here is a link to the Crime in Tennessee 2008 report



If you look at these numbers, there were a total of exactly 607 permits suspended or revoked in 2008 and there was a total of 218,004 permit holders on 1/1/2009. Therefore, 0.278% of permits were at least suspended for crime or other reasons last year. As suspensions can be temporary, the number of permits revoked was 263 which is 0.1206% of the total number of permits at the end of the year, that's less than 1/8 of 1%.

All the while, there were 47,315 arrests for Domestic Violence, 236 for Stalking, 29,387 for DUI plus 2,843 for Weapon Law Violations in the state during the same time period. With an estimated population of 6,214,888, that means that at least 1.28% of the total population committed crimes that would result in revokation of a permit. And that is a very conservative estimate as it does not take into account all of the offenses that would disqualify someone for a permit which is not explicitly listed. If you took into account every crime that qualifies, I'm sure that percentage would at least close to double. Namely, from the Handgun Carry Permit Qualifications and Requirements website ():

- Applicants shall not have been convicted of any felony offense punishable for a term exceeding one (1) year;
- Applicants shall not currently be under indictment or information for any criminal offense punishable by a term exceeding one (1) year;
- Shall not be currently the subject of any order of protection;
- Shall not be a fugitive from justice;
- Shall not be an unlawful user of or addicted to alcohol or any controlled substance and the applicant has not been a patient in a rehabilitation program or hospitalized for alcohol or controlled substance abuse or addiction within ten (10) years from the date of application;
- The applicant has not been convicted of the offense of driving under the influence of an intoxicant in this or any other State two (2) or more times within ten (10) years from the date of application and that none of such convictions has occurred within five (5) years from the date of application or renewal.
- Shall not have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence as defined in 18 U.S.C.A. 921 (33);
- Shall not have been convicted of the offense of stalking;

The lawmakers seem to have come around a great deal in passing laws allowing carrying in more places, but the more publicity it gets it seems there are more and more people afraid of anyone carrying a weapon legally. If they wish to make the choice to not protect themselves from violent crimes, that is fine by me, as long as they don't push their ignorant fears on me and tread on my rights. I am proud to say that I am a member of a minority of our population known for being peaceful and law abiding all while enjoying the freedom to exercise my 2nd Amendment rights and protect my family.

[ProguninTN]

That should be handy. Thanks for posting it.

[C. Richard Archie]

Excellent post!

[macville]

So is the Suspended and Revoked state possibly a little confusing? Isn't a license normally suspended before it is revoked? If that is the case, doesn't that mean that 81 people who had the permit suspended actually got their permit back at some point?

Also, something else that I believe if confusing, if I remember correctly, is that if someone doesn't renew their permit, then it's labeled as "revoked." It would be nice if they had "expired" permits also so none of those get grouped in what sounds like the "crime" category.

Matthew

[netmindr]