Conn. police report surge in gun permit requests

Updated: Sunday, 13 Jan 2013, 2:56 PM EST
Published : Sunday, 13 Jan 2013, 2:56 PM EST

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Police in several Connecticut towns say they've seen a large increase in gun permit applications since the Newtown school shootings last month.

Milford Police Chief Keith Mello told the New Haven Register ( http://bit.ly/VZwMgR ) that the number of gun permit applications in his town has doubled since a gunman killed 20 first-graders and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. He says the department has handed out 44 applications in the past month, compared with 20 in the same period last year.

Police in several other towns including Seymour, Branford and Middletown also are reporting increases in permit applications. Statewide figures weren't immediately available.

Gun dealers around the country say they've seen a spike in gun sales in response to Newtown and renewed talk of a federal ban on assault weapons.

For More Information

CT Law: "the name and address of a person issued a permit to sell at retail pistols and revolvers...or a state or a temporary state permit to carry a pistol or revolver...shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed...."

CT Law: The terms "pistol" and "revolver" means any firearm having a barrel less than twelve inches in length.

CT Law: Any person who is twenty-one years of age or older may apply to the Commissioner of Public Safety for an eligibility certificate for a pistol or revolver.

CT Law: No person shall carry any pistol or revolver upon his or her person, except when such person is within the dwelling house or place of business of such person, without a permit to carry the same....