If you’re listening to some pundit on television opining about how Americans are solidly in favor of more gun control, tighter gun regulations and the outlawing of whatever lucky gun is today’s selection as capable of triggering a “self-watering syndrome” in the easily threatened, you might be convinced to entertain the thought they might know what they’re talking about.

That qualifies you as a prime candidate for a bridge I’ve heard is for sale too.

If you take a stroll through a gun shop, you’ll notice there seems to be more space on the product. You’ll also see clearly labeled shelves formerly filled with ammunition.

There’s still a run on firearms and a shortage of the most popular calibers of ammunition.

Decidedly not signals that people are buying to get fewer guns.

Those are signs that the demand still outpaces supply.

Bullet manufacturers like Vista Outdoor are telling news outlets they’ve never seen such demand for their components. It’s the same story with everything from raw metal to finished ammunition. They’re running full-bore, and it’s still not enough.

It appears these new purchases aren’t going into the sock drawer “just in case” - they’re going to the range for practice, then increasingly finding their way to holsters, vehicles and bedrooms across the country.

People are (justifiably) nervous. Consequently, they’re taking what they feel are appropriate steps to protect their home and families. According to the Christian Science Monitor, approximately forty percent of today’s buyers are first-timers, and a significant chunk of those newbies are women and minorities.

Recently, the Crime Prevention Research Center came out with a report that contained the most recent carry statistics. They’re not as current as the CSM’s reports of last week, but still eye-opening..especially when you consider the fact that many in the media are still trying to convince you there’s no need to worry.

As of the latest statistics, more than 7.6% of all U.S. adults- about 19.48 million - are concealed carry permit holders.

Is that significant? Absolutely.

In 1999 there were only 2.7 million nationwide. Today, Florida alone has more than two million permit holders.

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Texas each have more than a million. Alabama permit holders represent 28.5 percent of all the state’s total adult population.

Fourteen states report gender-specific numbers. In them, 26.4 percent of their permit holders are women.

When you look at the growth since 2016, you’ll see that’s when thirty-four percent of the growth occurred.

And we all know that sales have continued to be stratospheric since early March. But looking at the same period, it’s interesting to note that permits have dropped.

That’s not a statistical aberration, or a reflection of lessening angst. It’s caused by the COVID-19 shutdowns. During pandemic services reductions, many states simply shutdown the approval process.

Here are some takeaways from the research:

• permits for women and minorities are climbing at rates much faster than for the “men” or “whites” categories. CCWs for women grew at a rate 101.2 percent faster than men.
• The growth doesn’t reflect the fact that sixteen states are Constitutional carry states- permits aren’t required.
• In the four states that provide data by race, black people acquiring CCW permits grew about 55.6 percent faster than whites. CCW growth among Asians, however, showed the largest growth rate - 62.9 percent faster than whites.
• The idea that concealed carry owners fuel crime is absolutely disproven. In Florida and Texas, for example, permit holders are convicted of misdemeanors and felonies at one-sixth the rate of police officers.

There are a lot of opinions out there, and they can be contradictory. But facts are hard to argue.

We’ll keep you posted.

— Jim Shepherd