Number of applications for concealed-carry permits falls in Kansas

The number of Kansans applying for concealed-carry firearms permits is down for the second year – and the decline could continue now that the state no longer requires licenses for concealed-carry gun owners.

The Kansas Attorney General’s Office said Tuesday it received 9,805 applications for concealed-carry permits between July 1, 2014, and June 30 – about 4,400 fewer than it received statewide the year before. The number is about 62 percent of the total the state received in 2013, when annual applications peaked at 25,361.

The attorney general’s office has received 100,769 applications for concealed-carry permits since the licensing program started in 2006 and has issued 98,035 licenses. But a July 1 change in the law eliminated the need for the permits inside state lines.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said Tuesday he expects licensing to remain popular even though eligible Kansans no longer need to pass a background check and training and obtain the license to carry their guns concealed. He said Kansans who are licensed can carry their weapons in 36 other states.

Kansas is the fifth state to allow its residents to carry concealed firearms without a permit.

Although Sedgwick County leads the state in most applications received –19,943 – and most licenses issued – 19,416 – since 2006, local application numbers are also “dropping off,” Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lin Dehning said.

In May, the office received 71 applications for concealed-carry licenses, compared with 194 in May 2014, he said. In June, there were just 69 – about a third of June 2014’s 181 applications.

“I think people were just anticipating that they (legislators) were going to change the law, so why spend the money” for a license and go through the background check and training? Dehning said.

“We’ll see if this continues to drop off or plateaus anywhere,” he said.

Dehning said he doesn’t foresee annual license applications falling to zero because Kansas gun owners still need the permits to carry concealed in other states.

Schmidt, in his release, encouraged Kansans to continue pursuing firearms training in the wake of the changes to the concealed-carry law. He also asked residents to not carry their firearms into buildings that have properly posted signs banning them.

Johnson County has the second-highest number of concealed-carry applications and licenses issued since 2006, with 16,150 and 15,704, respectively. Shawnee County ranks third, with 6,168 applications and 6,038 licenses issued.

For more information on the state’s concealed-carry licensing program, go to www.ag.ks.gov.

Here’s the list of states that currently recognize Kansas concealed carry licenses:

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Colorado
• Florida
• Georgia
• Idaho
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Wyoming
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

The Kansas Attorney General’s Office says that while these states indicate they recognize Kansas permits, it’s ultimately the license holder’s job to make sure he or she is carrying lawfully in other jurisdictions. Being able to carry concealed under your own state’s laws doesn’t necessarily mean you are legal in other states. Source: www.ag.ks.gov

This story was originally published July 21, 2015 at 6:29 PM with the headline "Number of applications for concealed-carry permits falls in Kansas."