Headline: 'Gun permits gain in popularity'

The Oklahoman reports this morning that more and more Oklahomans appear to be acquiring licenses to carry concealed weapons. The article cites the issuance of 54,705 concealed carry licenses in the past five years, 40,538 of them to white men and 10,484 to white women. Those of Asian, black, Hispanic, and American Indian descent accounted for the remaining 3,683.

Since the Oklahoma Self Defense Act became law in 1996, more than 113,000 licenses have been issued, but it is not known how many of those were renewals of existing licenses.

In Texas, it is reported that about 260,000 citizens have a license to carry.
At the end of last year, 258,162 people had permits, up about 4 percent from the year before and more than double the number in 1996, when Texas law first allowed people to carry concealed weapons.

Senior citizens and middle-agers are among the most likely to take advantage of the Texas concealed handgun law, the Texas Department of Safety's spokesman said. Although those 55 and older represent just 28 percent of the state's population over the age of 21, they carry 46 percent of the permits. And one-third of the permit holders are 60 and older.

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