Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 11:21:22 -0500
From: Jeff Halapin <[g--ee--y] at [onramp.net]>
To: [texas gun owners] at [zilker.net], [c h li] at [fc.net]
Subject: New CHL Stats

Posted to texas-gun-owners by Jeff Halapin <[g--ee--y] at [onramp.net]>
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By JUAN B. ELIZONDO Jr.=
Associated Press Writer=

AUSTIN (AP) _ More than 90,000 Texans are licensed to carry
concealed handguns, according to the Department of Public Safety.

The DPS says it had issued 91,501 concealed-carry licenses as of
Wednesday. Another 617 people had been denied licenses.

The department on Thursday released its monthly report covering
85,818 licenses issued as of Aug. 1.

The report showed:

_ 80,807, or just more than 94 percent of those permits went to
white men and women. That could include Hispanics, who are not
counted separately.

_ White men, including some Hispanics, held 65,607, or 76.5
percent, of the permits.

_ Black men and women had 2,566, or nearly 3 percent.

_ Black men held 2,239, or 2.6 percent.

Texas lawmakers approved the concealed-carry law last year.
Permits began going out last fall and permitholders were allowed to
carry their concealed weapons starting Jan. 1.

State officials had estimated 75,000 permits would be issued in
the first fiscal year, which ends Aug. 31. That estimate was passed
last month.

The department said 273,539 people had requested applications
and 99,652 had returned completed forms so far.

``We're glad that people are taking advantage of the
opportunity,'' said Mark Seale, a spokesman for Sen. Jerry
Patterson, R-Pasadena. Patterson sponsored the law.

``We think that the numbers will continue once people realize
they can achieve their safety legally. The blood in the street that
opponents predicted hasn't happened and it won't happen.''

The DPS report also shows age descriptions of the 85,818
permitholders and the ZIP codes in which they live. Information
about the other permitholders will be released next month.

By age:

_ Two 92-year-old Texans were the oldest licensed to carry
concealed weapons. The law does not allow the DPS to report
individuals' names or addresses.

_ The youngest people allowed to carry concealed handguns are
21. There were 142 of them.

_ The median age of permitholders was 50. There were 2,387
50-year-olds licensed.

By postal ZIP code, nine areas were home to more than 300
permitholders each, including seven in the Dallas-Fort Worth areas.
Those were:

_ 75149 (370) and 75150 (325), which cover parts of Mesquite in
Dallas County.

_ 75043 (357), which covers part of Garland, in Dallas County.

_ 77536 (326), Deer Park in Harris County.

_ 76017 (324), Arlington in Tarrant County.

_ 76028 (319), Burleson in Johnson-Tarrant counties.

_ 76180 (315), Fort Worth in Tarrant County.

_ 77566 (306), Lake Jackson, in Brazoria County.

_ 75067 (303), Lewisville, in Denton County.

(Copyright 1996 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)
===================================
Jeff Halapin
[g--ee--y] at [onramp.net]
===================================

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