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After a new state law took effect, from May 28 through the first week of December, the county issued 104 conceal and carry gun permits, a rate of 17.3 permits per month.
In the first five months of this year, prior to the new law, the county issued 26 gun carry permits, said Sheriff Dave Brand, a rate of 5.2 permits per month.
That means that the rate of issuing handgun permits in the county has more than tripled from the first five months of this year compared with the past six months under the new law.
The latest six-month rate, 17.3 guns per month, is twice that for all of 2002, 8.6 guns per month.
Just before the new law took effect, Brand told the Winona Daily News he expected the number to double or triple. Legislative researchers and law enforcement authorities have predicted the new law will increase handgun permits from 12,000 to 90,000 over three years statewide.
The new law gives permit-holding Minnesota gun owners the right to carry pistols into more buildings and simplifies the procedure for obtaining a permit to carry a loaded handgun.
It also changed the discretion of law enforcement authorities to issue permits, from a "may issue" standard to a "shall issue" standard, if the applicant meets a list of six requirements:
Must be at least 21 years of age.
Must complete an application form.
Must not be prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Must not be listed in the criminal gang investigation system.
Must be a resident of the county in Minnesota where the application is filed. Nonresidents may apply to any Minnesota county sheriff.
Must provide a certificate of firearms training, with the training provided by a certified instructor and completed at least one year prior to applying for a permit to carry a loaded handgun.
The law makes sheriffs the issuing authorities. Sheriffs must have clear and convincing evidence that applicants are a danger to themselves or the public before denying a permit.
Before the new law, applicants had to give Brand a reason for needing to carry a loaded gun, such as protecting cash at a business, making them less vulnerable in potentially dangerous circumstances or demonstrating other occupational needs or threats to their safety.
The old permits were valid for a year, but the new permits are good for five years. Sheriffs have 30 days to issue or to deny a permit.
All applicants who have applied since May 28 have qualified and were issued one, Brand said. Before that, Brand remembers only one case where an applicant was denied.
The permit fee in Winona County is $100, the maximum allowed by state law. A handgun safety course costs $150 to $175.
Personal information about permit applicants is classified as private. But the state is required next year to publish a report on gun permits, with demographic data on the characteristics of applicants.
Contact reporter Jeff Dankert at (507) 453-3513, or jdankert@winonadailynews.
com.
Correction
The doubling of Winona County's gun permit issuance rate during the past six months compared with the
12 months in 2002 represents a 100 percent increase, not a 50 percent increase as reported in Friday's edition.
