Jefferson County Gun Permit Increase
By: Ashantai Hathaway
Updated: May 23, 2010
JEFFERSON COUNTY- Usually on Saturday, the Jefferson County Courthouse is closed. Not this Saturday though. The doors were open, and waiting in line were people wanting gun permits, mostly not for recreation, but for safety.
We asked Gary Shugar if he felt getting a gun was necessary.
"You put a murderer in my backyard, yes," he responded.
The Jefferson County sheriff said requests for gun permits have tripled this week and most of them are from Falls Creek and Brockway residents, where there was recently a double homicide. Plus, they said ex-cons have moved into the area.
"I need protection in case somebody comes into my home," said Brockway resident, Mary Wingard.
"We're not use to that happening around here no ones comfortable with it," said Brockway resident, Tami Shugars.
Most applicants are first time gun owners. Now, the sheriff is concerned the community's fear could end in someone accidentally getting hurt.
"We're hoping that everybody is safe and secure. We're hoping there's no accidents because of the number of people that are going and buying handguns right now for security," said Jefferson County Sheriff Carl Gotwald.
The Sheriff's Department said it wanta people to still contact police and not try and take matters into their own hands. The Sheriff says he will consider opening on Saturdays once a month if the demand continues.
Comments
Just to let people know, in Pennsylvania you do not need a permit to have a gun in your home, nor do you need one to carry a gun in public as long as it is carried in plain sight. You only need a permit to carry a gun concealed or loaded within a vehicle.
My only question is why do people wait until someone is murdered nearby to realize they need the means to protect themselves? Most humans have had the good sense to try to keep themselves safe since the first caveman picked up a rock to help fight off an attacker, why do these people act like needing the ability to fight back is something new?
