Police see 'tremendous' rise in gun permits
Posted on:
Friday, April 24, 2009 - 11:05am
Applications for permits to carry pistols are up in North Haven as residents rush to beat any Obama-backed legislature which would complicate the purchase of civilian weapons.
North Haven Chief of Police James DiCarlo said that he has seen a “tremendous rise” in applications for permits to carry handguns in the town since last August, adding that the spike is both a state and country-wide phenomenon.The surge should not affect town safety, DiCarlo added.
“I don’t have a concern with the rise in gun permits,” the Chief of Police said, adding that his department, specifically North Haven Police Sgt. Mark Kirschner, perform a fastidious background check on all applicants.
“The real problem is man power,” DiCarlo continued. “It’s a drain on our resources. It is our duty to do a thorough investigation on all applicants, and if a law abiding citizen wants to carry a pistol, I have no problems with that.”
The police department previously received approximately five applications a month before August, DiCarlo said, a number that has now risen to 25 to 30 a month, with 40 applications approved since late summer and 36 applications currently pending.
“We’re two months backlogged,” said Kirschner, whose job to judge handgun applications has dominated his schedule in recent months.
North Haven residents and business people are allowed to keep a registered firearm in their residence or place of business, as long as a certified firearm handler transports the gun to the premises.
Although DiCarlo has not formed an opinion on the matter, he said that he was familiar with President Obama’s public support during his presidential campaign for the ban on sales of “assault weapons” to civilians, and could see it as a catalyst to the increase in applications.
Another reason for the hike, derived from Obama’s suggested ban, may be a public misconception on the definition of “assault weapon.”
“Assault weapon” has historically been a nebulous term. Generally, an assault weapon is similar in appearance to a military-grade weapon except that an assault weapon is semi-automatic, meaning that only a single shot is fired by squeezing the weapon’s trigger. An “assault weapon” is defined by U.S. law as a pistol, rifle, or semi-automatic shotgun capable of accepting both a detachable magazine and two or more of a number of military-style upgrades, including folding or telescoping stock, a flash suppressor, a grenade launcher, or a pistol grip for a rifle or shotgun.
An assault weapon would represent a significant upgrade over the commonplace pistol or revolver that a resident could carry in public with a permit. The Connecticut Firearms Laws Reference Guide defines a commonplace “pistol” or “revolver” – the only type of gun which is eligible to be carried in public by civilians- as “any firearm having a barrel less than 12 inches in length.” Such a definition of a pistol or revolver would not be considered an assault weapon.
A country-wide ban on the sales of assault weapons to civilians was passed by Congress in 1994, and was allowed to expire in 2004 after several national studies found little correlation between the ban and a decrease in gun violence. The ban only applied to weapons manufactured after the date of its ratification, a stipulation that would probably be present in any future legislation.
During his presidential race, Obama spoke of reviving the country-wide ban on the public’s purchasing of assault weapons. Since taking office, Obama has spent little effort on the ban, except in stating that although he still favors it, it may prove too difficult to see the fruition of the assault weapon ban. The president has also considered enforcing stricter laws against sending assault weapons over the border to Mexico, fearing that the U.S. may be fueling the violence caused by drug cartels in the neighboring country.
This is not the first rise that DiCarlo has seen in North Haven pistol permit applications, he said, as a similar hike took place in the months after Sept. 11.
A North Haven resident or businessperson over the age of 21 who wishes to receive a temporary permit to carry pistols must first obtain the correct forms from the police department. After completion, the forms must be returned in addition to a copy of fingerprints for the state, several application fees, a copy of birth certificate, the make, caliber, barrel length, and cereal number of pistols in possession, and proof of completion of a course in the safety and use of handguns, which can be earned with an instructor at an NRA-approved course.
The application information is then verified and the applicant is investigated by Kirschner. The sergeant references the applicant’s birth certificate and work record to determine eligibility. Kirschner will contact the Department of Health Services and the FBI to search for mental health issues and a criminal past. Any past restraining orders involving force or felony convictions will inhibit a permit, as will a number of misdemeanors, including certain degrees of illegal possession of firearms, criminally negligent homicide, unlawful restraint, assault, threatening, reckless endangerment, rioting, and stalking. Kirschner will also take into consideration an applicant’s motor vehicle, state police, North Haven Police, and tax payer records.
“Ninety-eight percent of permits are approved,” DiCarlo said, adding that a denial can be appealed to the Board of Firearm Permit Examiners, although the state department is backlogged “a year and a half.” The North Haven Police’s backlog typically results in a 60-day waiting period for a permit to be issued, exacerbated by the state’s backlog in running the applicant’s fingerprints.
The average applicant with a clean record will require four hours of background investigation, Kirschner said, with the police sparing no additional time for questionable permits.
“One applicant had an arrest in Minnesota, and we didn’t have a copy of the arrest,” Kirschner said, “so we had to call up the police and the people involved to get their sides of the story.”
All this work is eating into Kirschner’s time in uniform.
“The problem with gun permits is that they have tripled [Kirschner’s] work load every week,” DiCarlo said. “They drain how we can use him.”
Adding to the strain is that the North Haven police department itself does not charge for the work that goes into processing the permits, DiCarlo added. The only fees are $35 to the Town of North Haven for processing the fingerprints with the state, and $19.25 to the Department of Public Safety.
Once Kirschner approves an application, it is sent to DiCarlo who can authorize a temporary, 60-day pistol permit. During this time period, the holder of the temporary permit must apply to the state’s Department of Safety in Middletown for a five-year state permit if they wish to carry a pistol beyond two months. DiCarlo was unsure how many North Haven citizens are currently permitted to carry firearms, as state statures keep that information private.
In addition to the spike in permits, the police have also experienced a rise in gun seizures, DiCarlo said. There has been a “dramatic increase” in the number of illegal guns confiscated on the streets in the last decade, according to the chief, in addition to a new state statute that requires all legal and illegal firearms to be assumed by authorities from individuals involved in cases of domestic abuse. Neither increase holds any correlation to the rise in permits, DiCarlo said, as the people who commit public, non-domestic abuse crimes which result in the seizure of guns are not the type who would carry those firearms legally.
“Criminals do not have legal guns,” Kirschner said. “They’re not going to shops to buy them.”
“Criminals are not taking the gun courses,” DiCarlo added.
The North Haven Police’s property room currently holds 120 guns from seizures, including a legally-owned AK-47, according to Kirschner, who said that the firearms are “50/50” legal and illegal.
For more information on how the U.S. government defines an assault weapon, visit www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-1022.
