No rush to apply

Since Missourians were given the right to carry concealed firearms in 2004, more than 900 permits have been issued in Cape Girardeau, Scott, Perry and Bollinger counties.

To some officials and permit advocates, that number is lower than expected.

"We were concerned when it started there'd be a big rush," Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf said. So far, Perry County has had 61 applications for concealed gun permits; 58 have been granted and three are pending.

"I think it's being underutilized," said Gene Colyer, an employee of Shooters Gun Shop in Cape Girardeau. "Better to have it and not use it than need it and not have it."

Scott County chief deputy Tom Beardslee estimated that the area has seen only 20 percent of the number of applications for permits as was originally expected by the department. He suspected that is because obtaining a conceal-carry permit is not a big issue for the majority of people.

"Most say now they're going to do it because they can," said Beardslee, who also teaches a required safety class for those seeking a concealed firearms permit.

Despite not having a mad rush for permits, Rowedy Enderle of Shooters in Cape Girardeau said customers steadily come in either inquiring about concealed firearms or purchasing them specifically for concealment. According to Enderle, there are about two to three customers a week, many of whom are women.

"They're the most vulnerable," Enderle said of women, estimating that about 150 to 200 of the 502 concealed permits issued in Cape Girardeau County were to women.

Many females who have come into Shooters wanting a concealed firearm have never even handled a gun before, something that makes Enderle glad there is the required eight-hour gun safety class to obtain a permit.

Beardslee's class includes four hours of class instruction and four hours on the firing range. He teaches on the concealed firearm statute, the use of force, gun safety and marksmanship.

The firing range course itself, Beardslee said, is probably too easy.

To pass the state-required test, applicants have as much time as needed to hit a door-sized target seven yards away 15 out of 20 times.

"Practically you could take a blind person, point them in the right direction, and they could qualify on the course," he said.

To date, though, Beardslee has never taught someone he felt would be unqualified. Occasionally, he will try to discourage a person obtaining the concealed weapon or will send them to another instructor if he feels they are not qualified or unable to handle carrying a concealed weapon.

"I think I've got a certain amount of responsibility," Beardslee said.

But that responsibility does not have to spread to those who simply want to purchase a firearm and conceal it in their car, something the law allows without a concealed firearm permit or a safety class.

A person being able to carry a weapon in their car without taking a safety class gives Beardslee some concern as a law enforcement officer, but no more than someone carrying a gun illegally. Since the law passed, Beardslee said, he has encountered no trouble with anyone who has a weapons permit, a comment echoed by other officials.

"I haven't heard of anybody with a gun permit that's committed a crime of violence," said Cape Girardeau Associate Circuit Judge Gary A. Kamp.

Kamp, who is also the chairman for the local National Rifle Association chapter, said a lot of reasons on the right to carry a firearm center on personal safety.

Colyer agreed, stating police officers are there to protect the public as opposed to the individual.

"Who does that leave to take care of me but myself?" Colyer said, adding he always carries a .38-caliber revolver.

Enderle, who has never had to pull his gun out, said most people who carry do not want to have use their firearm, him included.

"I'd be scared to death if I had to pull my gun," he said.

People who acquire concealed gun permits and carry the weapon are not the threat, according to Enderle.

Those who are likely to use a concealed firearm for violence are mostly criminals who would not have applied for the permit to begin with, he said. Convicted felons are barred by federal law from owning or possessing a firearm.

"The people who are legally doing it are law-abiding citizens," Enderle said. "They're not all of a sudden going to quit being a law-abiding citizen just because they've got a gun on them."

kmorrison@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127

Stats

Cost for handgun purchase permit and concealed weapon permit, respectively

Cape Girardeau County: $10, $83

Bollinger County: $10, $100

Scott County: $5, $38

Perry County: $10, $100

Concealed firearm permits issued since 2004

Bollinger County: 51 issued

Cape Girardeau County: 502 issued, 12 pending

Scott County: 306 issued

Perry County: 58 issued, three pending

Sources: The local county sheriff's departments.