Huge jump in people applying for concealed pistol licenses locally

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – So many people locally are seeking permits to carry concealed pistols, the sheriff’s office is recommending making an appointment.

The sheriff’s office attributes the dramatic increase in requests to recent major events around the country, according to Lewis County Undersheriff Wes Rethwill.

On average, six to 10 individuals visited the sheriff’s office in Chehalis for that purpose each day over the past few months. Last week, however, as many as 30 people each day came in to apply for concealed pistol licenses, according to the sheriff’s office.

The license isn’t required to own a handgun, only to carry it concealed on your person out in public.

To avoid long waits, citizens are advised to make an appointment, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. Individuals can still walk in to get an application, but those already scheduled will be served first, according to Brown.

Appointments can be made Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. by phoning 360-748-9286.

Individuals can apply for a CPL at the local law enforcement agency that serves the jurisdiction in which they live. The sheriff’s office accepts applications from residents, regardless of where they reside in the county.

The sheriff’s office received 167 applications in November, already higher than any other months previous during 2015.

The jump in requests follows the mass shootings on Nov. 27 in Colorado Springs and Dec. 2 in San Bernadino, California.

The last time the sheriff’s office saw a noticeable jump in applications was following the December 2012 elementary school shooting in Connecticut, with well over 250 requests that month.

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8 Responses to “Huge jump in people applying for concealed pistol licenses locally”

  1. thats liberal bs says:

    Bullshit .. Understand this people like you are trash and your liberalization of a once great nation is over. The people who don’t collect assistance,are sick of lazy ass scum , if you don’t support yourself 100% you don’t get a fuck opinion!! I had nothing as a kid , worked my ass off , now 6 figure salary big house great family. And not a dime of welfare, so keep crying about the bull-shit1% , its a lie, your just a broke ass , who was to lazy or stupid to do anything with your life , but bitch and moan. Poor me..

  2. Wilbur says:

    The US military-industrial perpetual war machine has really never ever rested in spite of some epic failures. This has coincided with the successful takeover of the US govt. by big money interests leading to extreme economic inequality, and all but 1% of the population being completely disenfranchised. How long will this boardroom coup last or be benign, before it becomes a coup d’état? Not very long is what most people seem to think.

    Arms and ammunition are being hoarded now for many years, and preppers are openly prepping for the impending meltdown. Then there’s the militarization of trigger-happy local police with armored personnel carriers, explosives, tear gas, and fully automatic weapons lighting-up anything anywhere with impunity. The daily mass-shootings here in the US alone are clear evidence we are very much less-safe in our daily lives. Get a CPL and consider that someone said, “peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.”

  3. Sleepless in Sintralia says:

    When seconds count the police are hours away. Yes stand your ground and gun them down. Im glad the public is awake to the media lie. Now wake up and remove the fluoride from the public water supply.

  4. LC_duncan says:

    Vicki, you need to read more instead of watching news on TV. It’s pretty bad out there.

  5. CrazyOldMan says:

    Unfortunately, since 911, we Americans have been subject to the most pernicious propaganda machine ever invented. At least as effective as the Nazi’s and Soviet Union efforts at mass mind control.

    The mainstream media is a vassal of the national security state and mouths it objectives and press releases verbatim.

    These people are convicted and executed within hours of the heinous crime – case closed – no trial needed – they are guilty – look no further. Any contrary witnesses are excluded from the public debate.

  6. Vicki says:

    CrazyOldMan, you have an extremely active imagination. You could make a lot of money writing fiction and creating lots of stories that would create lots of fodder for movie scrips.

  7. some dude says:

    Same thing happened after sandy hook. People are being manipulated into thinking there is a system and you can defend yourself. Truth is you can even defend your self with a pistol and a CPL. Sorry guys the only ones with firepower are the US military. Your little NRA buddies already lost. Go pretend youre still free and have your phony little gun show. Everything you do even your kids grades are stored on permanent government hard drive. Sure you can own a gun. Hold one on your person (debatable). Point one at some asshole threatening you. Certainly not. So why have one? We are past the point of gun prohibition by comparison to other weapon tech. But our weapons of choice are narrowed by communist soccer moms. So you keep thinking you have some type of rights left. hahaha. Thank your media.

  8. CrazyOldMan says:

    Perhaps I am crazy but I personally think that the Boston Bombings and the San Bernardino shootings and perhaps several other of the mass homicide events are false flag attacks to promote the gun control agenda. In the recent case, I also think the agenda was to promote the U.S., Britain, and France’s adventures in Syria.

    Dead men don’t tell tales and law enforcement was quick to murder the patsies in both of these cases. The younger Boston bomber survived although the cops shot the hell out of the boat he was hiding in. These kids were driving around in sports cars with no obvious means of support, were CIA connected, and traveling back and forth to Russia’s troubled Caucasus republics.

    In the San Bernardino case several witnesses stated that there were three white male shooters. These guys were probably contract assassins. This Marquez character who hid in a mental institution for fear of being murdered was probably the agent provocateur who purchased the guns for the people with the scary sounding middle eastern names. This is standard FBI procedure to get some PR for stopping a “terrorist” operation by first inspiring these people to break the law and then arresting them.

    So the reason for all of the CPL applicants is that people really don’t believe the B.S. being pumped out of their TV sets by the mainstream media anymore and know that the real agenda is the government coming for the guns of law abiding citizens.

    I have a CPL but don’t normally carry. I think society is generally safe enough that you don’t need to be armed but I reserve the right to be. Also I would rather not wait for the police to respond to someone kicking down my door in the middle of the night.