CPRC research covered in the Washington Times, Breitbart, and Townhall: “Concealed carry permits at all-time high Women, minorities fasting-growing groups seeking license”

The Washington Times article started this way:

Nearly 14.5 million Americans are now licensed to carry a concealed handgun — a jump of 1.73 million in just a year, according to new research that says women and black Americans are among the most eager to sign up.

More than 6 percent of the adult population in the U.S. now has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, according to John R. Lott Jr. at the Crime Prevention Research Center. And those who actually carry is likely much higher because nearly a dozen states don’t even require a permit to do so, he said.

Florida, Texas and Pennsylvania each have more than 1 million registered permit holders, while in the smaller states of Indiana and South Dakota, about 15 percent of all adults are permitted.

“Part of it is just Obama. We have had a big increase in people buying guns, but it’s pretty clear it’s broader. It’s not just the number of guns, it’s clear more people are using guns,” Mr. Lott said.

The numbers come at a time when the gun debate is heating up nationally, with the two major party presidential candidates battling over gun ownership and use. GOP nominee Donald Trump is a concealed carry permit holder himself, while Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has called for cracking down on firearms ownership.

Several gun control groups either didn’t respond to messages or were too busy with the Democratic convention in Philadelphia this week to be able to review Mr. Lott’s findings. . . .

The rest of the article is available here.

The Breitbart article on July 28, 2016 reports this:

The latest study from the Crime Prevention Research Center’s (CPRC) John Lott Jr. shows that women got concealed carry permits at twice the pace of men during Barack Obama’s second term.

According to CPRC, “The number of women with permits has increased twice as quickly as the number of men with permits.” The study also shows that there is evidence which “suggests that permit-holding is increasing about 75 percent more quickly among minorities than among whites.” This information poses a direct challenge to the left’s relentless claims that the customers driving gun sales to record levels are the same old white men who already owned guns and have simply decided to buy more.

The study shows that concealed carry has risen 215 percent since 2007. And the number of permits “increased by 1.73 million” in 2015 alone, leaving the national total of permits at more than “14.5 million.” Moreover, “In ten states, more than 10 percent of adults have concealed handgun permit” and in 11 states no permit is “required to carry in all or virtually all of the state.” . . .

The rest of the discussion is available here.

Townhall, July 29, 2016

There are over 14.5 million Americans that have a concealed carry permit. That’s an all-time high, according to John Lott of the Crime Prevention Research Center. It’s an increase of 1.73 million this year alone, breaking the previous record of 1.69 million last year. Overall, Lott says there’s been a 215 percent increase in concealed carry permits holders since 2007.

Women and minorities mostly fuel the surge. In fact, Lott writes in the abstract of his paper that there’s “some evidence suggest[ing] that permit-holding is increasing about 75% more quickly among minorities than among whites.”

Lott also added that Florida, Pennsylvania, and Texas are states in which one million of their residents are CCW-permit holders. He adds that ten states have a permit holding demographic that constitutes about 10 percent of the respective population, with Indiana being the highest at 15 percent. And, in keeping with national trends, women obtaining permits has increased twice the rate of men between 2012 and 2016. Concerning crime, the CPRC says that between 2007 and 2015, the murder rate fell from 5.6 to 4.7 per 100,000—a 16 percent drop. . . .