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CCW demographics

5K views 22 replies 13 participants last post by  Supertac45 
#1 ·
I just looked at Texas' demographics studies on CCW permits and found the following...pardon my generalizations!
-> Most CCW permit holders are white males.
-> Age-wise, most are in their early 40's to early 60's (boomers).
-> Far and away, the largest numbers occur in the cities, especially around Dallas and Fort Worth. There is a HUGE outlier of permit holders in the mid-cities. We locals know why! Gimme the northern 'bubs any day. :)

How 'bout the other states? Are the demographics roughly the same, you think?


Regards,
 
#2 ·
The first two items of the TX demographics are not at all surprising.
I'd bet anything they are representative of the nation at large.

- Black, male, late 30s carrying since age 21, city bred, suburban schooled, and currently rural living
 
#6 ·
It'd be interesting to find out.

Arkansas has over 70,000 permits issued.

I don't know the official stats, but I'll give you my personal observations. The CHL came into law in 1995. Having talked to other instructors from around the state, their experience pretty closely resembles mine.

Most of our students run from 30 something to 50 something.

In the last year, we have seen an increase in the amount of "elderly" people. What I'm calling elderly people are 65 and over. It seems that these people are realizing that they aren't as strong as they used to be, and they understand that the world is not the same as it was when they grew up.

The bigger cities, like Little Rock, Fort Smith, Pine Bluff,North Little Rock are seeing an increase due to the out of control crime rates that are largely caused by gang violence.If In any case, people are getting more permits than ever before...the ASP is literally swamped with them.

Like yours, its not just the big city folks that are getting them...but the mid city people feel the need to get them too.

As for the white males...thats pretty true to. We've had maybe a dozen Black people come through, but in a town of 25000+ with only around 450 Blacks, its probably proportional. Our Mayor who is black, took the last class.
 
#9 ·
I recently did an Arizona demographic study. There is a web site that has CCW by county and city.

Statewide, the CCW percentage is ~1.7% The highest percentage comes from the Prescott/Flagstaff area where, if I recall correctly, the percentage of CCW holders was ~2.1%.

They also break out age and gender and it was mostly 40-60 year old males.
 
#11 ·
This is from the Oklahoman and the only place I could find information. I believe it was published in Jan. 2007. Some of it will not make your day. My Baptist Minister has a completely different attitude then the one in the article.

Ron

By Ken Raymond
Staff Writer Oklahoman

She just wants to carry a gun.

"One of my new resolutions is to follow up on getting a conceal-carry permit,” said Corbett, 52, of Oklahoma City. "I've been thinking about it for years. I always thought it was kind of a good thing to do, kind of a responsible thing.”

So before long, she plans to take a Self-Defense Act class, fill out her paperwork and apply for state permission to carry a concealed firearm — joining thousands of other Oklahomans who already are licensed to pack heat.

As a white woman in her age range, she should fit right in. During the past five years, 54,705 conceal-carry permits have been issued, according to data released by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Of those, 40,538 were issued to white men, while white women received 10,484 permits.

The remaining 3,683 were split mainly between Asian, black, Hispanic and American Indian people of both genders. A small number of people listed their race as "unknown.”

The racial makeup is not unexpected, said David Hemenway of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center.

Studies of other areas in the country have shown white people are far more likely to get permits than those of other races.

"It's mostly whites. It's mostly males. It's mostly people with above average incomes and people who live in suburban areas. They're the ones who already have the guns. They're the ones who have the money,” said Hemenway, author of "Private Guns, Public Health.”

In all, more than 113,000 conceal-carry permits have been issued in Oklahoma since the Self-Defense Act took effect in 1996, said Dave Page, director of information services for OSBI.

The agency doesn't keep statistics on permit renewals, so it's not known how many of those were issued to repeat customers.

William is one of those. The 52-year-old Moore man, who did not want his last name published in the paper, is on his second conceal-carry permit.

He said he carries his Kahr .45-caliber semi-automatic most of the time, leaving it at home only when he goes to work or to places where guns are prohibited, such as state buildings or restaurants that sell alcohol.

"It's second nature for me,” William said. "When I first started carrying it regular, I got uncomfortable not having it with me. You get used to it.”

Phil Ratliff, 66, of Norman has never gotten used to the idea of his fellow Oklahomans walking around armed.

"Every statistic shows that people who carry guns end up shooting someone else, usually not the person they were aiming for,” Ratliff said. "I just don't want us to get to a place where we're ... driving along the roadside in pickup trucks with guns. ... It scares me when I see some of the road rage just driving through Oklahoma City.”

At the very least, he said, only those whose lives are in certain danger should be allowed to carry guns.

"I'm a Southern Baptist minister,” he said. "I've been one for 45 years and am very conservative, according to the scriptures. But I guess the NRA (National Rifle Association) would probably call me a liberal.”

Sally Eastridge never has felt threatened — but she wants to be ready if she ever is in danger.

"I'm just a believer in having a gun to protect yourself,” said Eastridge, 30, of Oklahoma City. "I don't think I would be the type to carry it around with me everywhere I went. I'd probably keep it in the house or the car.

"I just think it's important that I have this permit to show I know how to use a gun and am qualified to use it.”

She already has attended an all-day class on gun safety and the Self-Defense Act, fulfilling one of the requirements for getting a permit.

Like Corbett, she wants to get licensed this year.

"The state of our world is becoming more and more disturbing,” Corbett said. "We have illegal aliens who are coming, and ... if someone is willing to steal citizenship, it makes you wonder how much more they'd be willing to take from you.”

Could she shoot someone if she had to?

"I think if it was them or me,” she said, "I could.”
 
#12 ·
In my renewal class the other day, I'd guess that 3/4th of the folks were either seniors or pretty close. There were a few younger guys in their 20s and 30s too, but mostly seniors. I bet a lot were Viet Nam vets. That is just a guess, but that's the age demographic I saw; 55 on up.
 
#13 ·
I just looked at Texas' demographics studies on CCW permits and found the following...pardon my generalizations!
-> Most CCW permit holders are white males.
-> Age-wise, most are in their early 40's to early 60's (boomers).
-> Far and away, the largest numbers occur in the cities, especially around Dallas and Fort Worth. There is a HUGE outlier of permit holders in the mid-cities. We locals know why! Gimme the northern 'bubs any day. :)
Hey! I resemble those remarks! :bier:

Oh wait, I'm in Fort Worth.
 
#21 ·
http://www3.whdh.com/features/archive/helpmehank/1/

Hank Investigates: License to carry
He's a family man--with a good job--he lives on the south shore---and he’s allowed to carry a gun. Today--his firearm's for target practice--but he's legally licensed to carry it-concealed---for self defense.

"Lee"/ Licensed to carry
"I want the guarantee I can protect myself and my family. If I choose to carry, that's up to me."

In fact, our investigation found more than 194,000 people in Massachusetts ( 2005 stats ) ---that's one in 25 Bay State adults--has the Class A license that could allow them to carry a concealed firearm. That's equal to one person on each city bus--or 10 moviegoers at a sold out show.

Hank Phillippi Ryan
"Do you think people realize how many people are carrying a concealed gun?"

Chief Paul Frazier/President/MA Chiefs of Police Association
"No. I'm sure most residents don't know who has them and who doesn't have them."

But we obtained town-by-town numbers---and found the percent of adults with those Class A licenses depends on where you live.

In Boston and Cambridge--fewer than one percent. In Wareham and Millville..around 9 percent. Rowe and Savoy more than 26 percent..and Oakham, more than 44 per cent.

Chief Donald Haapakoski/ Oakham Police Chief
"I think people are exercising their right to carry firearms."
....
Chief Paul Frazier/MA Chiefs of Police Association
"Probably 99 percent of people properly licensed to carry firearms do not commit crimes.....

State law does give local police chiefs the power to refuse "unsuitable" applicants--those with a history of domestic violence, or substance abuse...
 
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