It’s against the law to carry a concealed handgun on a plane, sneak one into a business where alcohol sales make up more than half the revenue, or even to set foot in the offices of The Austin Chronicle with one. Yet interest in the state’s concealed handgun certification program, which authorizes citizens to carry hidden firearms under many other circumstances, has shot through the roof since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
According to the Texas Dept. of Public Safety, from Sept. 15 to Dec. 7 (not quite three months) the agency mailed more than 25,000 Concealed Handgun License applications to individuals across the state. During the two months before the attacks, DPS sent out just over 10,000. “We have not come out and said that 9/11 caused this,” said DPS spokesman Tom Vinger, “but the numbers pretty much speak for themselves.”
He notes that it is hard to tell whether the post-attack surge in license applications will directly contribute to increases in gun purchases, because it’s much easier to get a handgun than a license to conceal one. Currently in Texas, 218,434 individuals have concealed handgun permits — including 5,905 Travis County residents. But an informal telephone survey of local gun shops indicates that sales clerks have noticed more customers buying handguns, and area shooting instructors and ranges also report an increase in business. Mike Nellis, proprietor of the Austin Concealed Handgun Training School (which provides certification under the six-year-old DPS program), says enrollment has doubled in the past two months. Although the numbers for December have tapered off, Nellis says the decrease is just a holiday hiatus, and January is looking “quite busy.” A former deputy sheriff in San Antonio and assistant chief with the West Lake Hills Police Dept., Nellis believes the only benefit Texans are likely to see from arming themselves in the wake of 9/11 is psychological. “The main reason people get the permit is for personal protection,” he said. “But your chances of getting hijacked on a plane are about the same as being struck by lightning, and there’s no way a handgun is going to help you in that situation.”
Jennifer Beazely Slaughter of the Houston-based Texans for Gun Safety says her group doesn’t have a problem with law-abiding citizens packing heat, but worries about the proliferation of concealed handguns. “Our concern is what happens once people no longer feel there’s a threat,” she said, warning that the weapons could make their way into the neighborhood and into the hands of criminals.
Local law enforcement spokespeople say they remain unconcerned about the potential increase, even going so far as to say the trend might pose public safety benefits. The state’s licensing process is stricter and more expensive than federal rules determining handgun ownership: Applicants must pay a $140 license fee, pass a background check for past felony convictions, drug or alcohol dependency, tax defaults or other offenses, and complete 10 to 15 hours of training in order to prove their proficiency in firing and caring for their guns. “Our job is to uphold the law,” says Roger Wade, a spokesperson for the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. “So when it comes to law-abiding citizens wanting to obtain concealed handguns permits, we’ve got no problem with that.”
Still, Vinger from DPS says he’s “not sure” that having a concealed handgun will protect anyone from terrorist attacks. “The best thing you can do is be alert and report any suspicious activity to the appropriate authority.”
This article appears in December 21 • 2001.