Concealed Carry Permits Soar In Hippie-Filled Asheville, N.C.
By Bob Owens, May 27, 2015, Bearing Arms
Asheville, NC, may be something of an artsy mecca in western North Carolina, but it is also becoming very well-armed.
Whatever the reason for getting a concealed carry — self-defense, political beliefs about the right to bear arms, worries about terrorism, crime or societal implosion — the numbers of concealed carry permit holders keep rising.
That mirrors a national trend in which the number of concealed carry permit holders rose by 136 percent from 1999 to 2014, when it passed 11.1 million.
In Buncombe County, the number of permits issued in 2010 was 1,238. Last year it was 2,491, a 101 percent jump.
The rise comes amid proposals in the General Assembly to make the process for buying a handgun less burdensome. One would remove a requirement for a county Sheriff’s Office permit. Another bill that would create a special class of concealed carry permit holders that would have to undergo extensive training but would then be allowed to carry essentially wherever law enforcement can, with the exception of courtrooms.
Asheville, NC, may be something of an artsy mecca in western North Carolina, but it is also becoming very well-armed.
Whatever the reason for getting a concealed carry — self-defense, political beliefs about the right to bear arms, worries about terrorism, crime or societal implosion — the numbers of concealed carry permit holders keep rising.
That mirrors a national trend in which the number of concealed carry permit holders rose by 136 percent from 1999 to 2014, when it passed 11.1 million.
In Buncombe County, the number of permits issued in 2010 was 1,238. Last year it was 2,491, a 101 percent jump.
The rise comes amid proposals in the General Assembly to make the process for buying a handgun less burdensome. One would remove a requirement for a county Sheriff’s Office permit. Another bill that would create a special class of concealed carry permit holders that would have to undergo extensive training but would then be allowed to carry essentially wherever law enforcement can, with the exception of courtrooms.
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