Handgun Permits - County by County

[waynesan]

I know this has been on here before but I went looking for it today and it took awhile to find it. This list shows the county by county breakdown of how many HCPs have been issued.

http://www.tn.gov/safety/stats/DL_Handgun/Handgun/Current_HG_PermitHolders.pdf

[tartanphantom]

Judging by the trending increase each year over the last 5 years, looks like we're on track to surpass half a million permit holders by the end of 2015.

[Ugly]

I'm surprised how small a percentage of the population have permits.

I wonder how many don't get it because of the cost........ Edited January 19, 2015 by Still Ugly

[RED333]

My bet it is a "not wanting to be on a list" more than money.

This one surprised me the most, Shelby 54,758, not a knock but more of a "Way to go :up: ".

[Garufa]

I wonder how many don't get it because of the cost........

 

Probably a fraction of a percentage.

 

Don't get me wrong, I think the cost is ridiculous but if you can afford a gun, ammo, holster, etc, you can afford to pay for the privilege.

 

Good to see Knox County take 2nd place.  What's up with all you Nashville people...you've got nearly the same population as Shelby.

Edited January 20, 2015 by Garufa

[K191145]

Probably a fraction of a percentage.

 

Don't get me wrong, I think the cost is ridiculous but if you can afford a gun, ammo, holster, etc, you can afford to pay for the privilege.

 

Good to see Knox County take 2nd place.  What's up with all you Nashville people...you've got nearly the same population as Shelby.

 

Nashville more and more is being infested with liberals and progressives, it's the "IT" city according to many. Many more condo's and apartment buildings are in the plans to bring more of them to Nashville.

[peejman]

It would be nice if they also showed it as a percentage of the total county population.  The couple counties I looked at and state as a whole show roughly 10%.

[BigK]

It would be nice if they also showed it as a percentage of the total county population.  The couple counties I looked at and state as a whole show roughly 10%.

 

Whipped this up in Excel...hope it helps. Wish I could post it as a spreadsheet, but a pic will have to do...

 

[bersaguy]

My bet it is a "not wanting to be on a list" more than money.

This one surprised me the most, Shelby 54,758, not a knock but more of a "Way to go :up: ".

 

I know a great many gun owners that do not have carry permits because they don't want to be on a list of gun owners. Many of them bought their guns long before the back ground checks began and don't feel it's any of the governments business if they own guns. I think that falls true in most cases for a large amount of the population across the nation...............jmho

[waynesan]

Great Job BigK. Thanks for going to all that trouble.

Whipped this up in Excel...hope it helps. Wish I could post it as a spreadsheet, but a pic will have to do...

 

[peejman]

Whipped this up in Excel...hope it helps. Wish I could post it as a spreadsheet, but a pic will have to do...

 

 

 

Even sorted it by percentage... extra cookies for you.  :up:

[Just2Honor]

Great job on the spreadsheet! To bad you can't figure the percentage by eligible population, i.e. 21 years old or plus, no felony conviction, no domestic assault in their background, etc. but those numbers would be hard to come by. Anyway, great info, thanks. Edited January 20, 2015 by RoadKill

[bvarnell]

Census bureau says 23% under age 18.
Probably around 27% under 21.

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/47000.html

[bigun]

My bet it is a "not wanting to be on a list" more than money.

This one surprised me the most, Shelby 54,758, not a knock but more of a "Way to go :up: ".

Drive around Memphis a little and watch the local news and you'll wonder why so low.

[Ugly]

I know a great many gun owners that do not have carry permits because they don't want to be on a list of gun owners. Many of them bought their guns long before the back ground checks began and don't feel it's any of the governments business if they own guns. I think that falls true in most cases for a large amount of the population across the nation...............jmho

 

I put off getting one simply for the reason of being targeted by the law via the license plate. (we know this happens, look at maryland)

But then I lived in a city where I felt it was needed and figured that since I'm not a criminal, I need to get one. 

The cost was a bit pricey, $135-140, somewhere around there and while I agree a background check is important, I don't believe the price should be that high. 

 

Pennsyltucky currently charges $25, that's more my kind of price :)

[TomXD9]

Nashville more and more is being infested with liberals and progressives, it's the "IT" city according to many. Many more condo's and apartment buildings are in the plans to bring more of them to Nashville.

 

INFECTED...Very well said.

[krunchnik]

Surprise that the highest percentage of population has some of the lowest per capita HCP,s

[Garufa]

Surprise that the highest percentage of population has some of the lowest per capita HCP,s

 

Not really.  Law-abiding city folk don't need or care too much for guns.

[ProfEngr]

More trouble to find a place to practice w/o an established range & membership dues living in the city. Country folk just step out the back door or some such.

[tnhawk]

Surprise that the highest percentage of population has some of the lowest per capita HCP,s

The news every morning seems to report shootings daily in the areas with high populations.  It seems high populations and low HCP ratios work  well for those who wish to commit crimes.

Edited January 31, 2015 by tnhawk

[zenworm]

Thanks for that list BigK! With the growing number of oblivious hipsters in Nashville, it's no surprise we're so low on the list of permits per capita.

 

In all seriousness, as Nashville has become more popular for the younger generation of professionals over the last few years, I've noticed more people I come in contact with being averse to firearms. If recent activity just in my neighborhood in East Nashville is any indication, this is a boon to criminals and one they'll keep taking advantage of.

[Zombiehunter]

Whipped this up in Excel...hope it helps. Wish I could post it as a spreadsheet, but a pic will have to do...

 

Woo Hoo!  Wilson County representin'.

[ProfEngr]

Hamilton is quite a bit lower than I expected. Kind of shocked actually that none of the counties broke 20%.

[Cruel Hand Luke]

I'm not surprised at all. 

 

I think an even more interesting number would be " how many of those people with HCP actually carry on a regular basis?" Those numbers would be depressingly low.....

 

I'm going to guess that is 10% or less of the total number of permit holders that carry regularly.So it would be less than 10% of those "less than 20%" with a permit.  Most people out in the world, even in TN, and even in the "gun community",  really don't like carrying a gun around or making the lifestyle adjustments and sacrifices to be constantly armed. It is cumbersome to them, and deep down they really do not think anything will ever actually happen to them and that breeds complacency.

 

So what do they do? They get a permit, carry for 2 weeks, decide it is too much trouble and then after that they just  take a gun with them when they go on a trip, or if they have to go to a "bad part of town" but other than that it sits in the safe or the sock drawer at home. Even at my day job working for a firearms distributor where it is perfectly acceptable to carry, only about 30% of us actually carry at work.....so in a job filled with HARD CORE gun enthusiasts only 20% of THOSE people actually carry a gun on them regularly.

 

Take a look at people packing up and and leaving at the end of IDPA matches...I'd guess that 25-50% of those people (who by definition are HARD CORE gun enthusiasts) who are competing in a sport that is for practicing CONCEALED CARRY SKILLS do not actually carry on a regular basis. That is just reality. And I base that on watching people stow their guns in their trunk and take all their gear off before they leave the match. I have actually had a HIGH level shooter at a regional match see me replace my match gun (glock 34 with fiber optic front sight)  with my carry gun (glock 34 with tritium front sight) while getting ready to leave look at me curiously and  comment "You're one of those people that really carry a gun on them? " while he got in his truck to leave...... with no gun on.......

 

Just sayin'...it does not surprise me at all.

Edited February 3, 2015 by Cruel Hand Luke

[peejman]

Hamilton is quite a bit lower than I expected. Kind of shocked actually that none of the counties broke 20%.

 

 

Illustrates why our elected representatives don't really care that much what the "gun community" thinks and why it's so hard to get any sort of meaningful legislation through the system.