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One in 26 Monroe County residents has a permit to carry handguns
[November 29, 2009]

One in 26 Monroe County residents has a permit to carry handguns


Nov 29, 2009 (Herald-Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Monroe County resident Brent Haley carries his .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun in a holster on his hip anywhere the law allows.

"I have carried my handgun into the public mall on many occasions, out to dinner with my wife or even over to my father's house for Christmas morning," Haley said.

"I always carry my handguns fully loaded with a cartridge chambered and ready to fire." Haley, like many other handgun owners within Monroe County, said he carries his handgun for protection in case he ever needed it. He hasn't yet.



Haley is one of nearly 327,000 Indiana residents who have some kind of active handgun permit, according to a database maintained by the Indiana State Police.

The ISP's database, obtained by The Herald-Times through a public records request, paints a picture of how many Hoosiers can carry a handgun in public.


The database shows: Of the 4,976 active handgun permits within Monroe County, 4,941 -- or 99.2 percent -- are personal protection permits, which is on pace with the state as a whole. The other 35 handgun permits are other types of permits, such as hunting and target shooting.

One in about 26 Monroe County residents has a permit to carry a handgun in public. To put that in perspective, that means of the 600 people who could fit into a sold-out Buskirk-Chumley Theater, about 23 people could be armed.

In the H-T coverage area, Brown County has the highest percentage of people permitted to carry handguns in public based on population, at about one in eight.

The handgun permit database may provide an accurate picture of how many people can legally carry handguns in public, but it's only part of the picture.

An Indiana resident doesn't need a permit to purchase a handgun or to keep a handgun in a resident's home or business, according to state code. Also, a permit doesn't restrict the number of handguns a person can own.

Plus, Indiana honors handgun permits from all other states.

Handguns a last resort Bloomington resident Nathan Siegel said he applied for and received his lifetime personal protection permit in early 2008 for self-protection.

"Every time I'm not going onto (Indiana University's campus) or to a statutorily prohibited place, I carry," Siegel said. "I mostly carry concealed, but do occasionally open carry." While many handgun owners who legally carry their guns in public do so for protection, handgun experts strongly recommend using a gun as a last resort.

Emanuel Kapelsohn, an adjunct professor in IU's criminal justice department and a firearms instructor and expert, said people should try to exhaust every other reasonable option, such as running away or avoiding potentially dangerous situations, before using a handgun in self-defense.

"If someone wants your wallet, my best advice to them would be give them your wallet," Kapelsohn said. "My reaction is there's nothing in my wallet that's worth losing my life over. I hope there's nothing in my wallet that's worth taking someone else's life over, either." Kapelsohn said people do use handguns effectively to defend themselves.

"Most of the defensive uses of firearms are in one's home or place of business," he said.

While having a permit to carry a handgun in public in Indiana doesn't require any kind of training, Kapelsohn said handgun owners should have various kinds of instruction. He said a handgun owner who carries a weapon for self-defense should be trained in firearms safety, know how to shoot it and more.

"The person also needs to understand the law of self-defense, so they understand when they are entitled to use the gun," Kapelsohn said.

Also, people should get situational training, similar to law enforcement officers, which "puts them under some stress and (helps them) understand the complexity of the situation," he said.

Indiana State Police Sgt. Curt Durnil said he agrees that handgun owners should receive training, know how to fire the gun and be safe when carrying in public and storing a handgun at home.

"At home, the gun owner can secure the gun in a lock box or (use) a trigger guard, especially if children are in the home," Durnil said.

While guns in the home can be useful for self-defense, they can also wind up being used against the owners, or being stolen and used in the commission of other crimes.

More than a year ago, two teenagers forced their way into a Brown County home with the intention of stealing beer and shot and killed Richard "Dude" Voland. The teenagers also shot Voland's wife.

Bennie Reed, 17, shot Voland in the head with a handgun the teen had stolen from a neighbor. Voland had shot the teenager in the arm with his own handgun. Later, Reed shot Voland's wife in the stomach with Voland's own handgun.

Let cops enforce laws Law enforcement officials and handgun experts urge people with handguns to not try to respond to crimes. Durnil said Indiana law stipulates that a person can use a handgun to defend themselves and their property.

Plus, Durnil said, carrying a handgun is not the "know-all and be-all" of handling a dangerous or life-threatening situation.

"It can be a life-defending tool to a person who is trained and can use their training and experience in an effective way," Durnil said. "With these points in mind, there are many examples where people who were lawfully armed were in a position to save their life or the life of another person, as well as examples when an error in judgment by the lawfully armed person caused the loss of an innocent life." Kapelsohn said police officers have between 650 and 900 hours of training, with 60 to 90 hours of that dedicated to firearms instruction. Lay people should limit the use of their handguns to self-protection and not try to defuse a dangerous situation.

"A police officer hopefully has enough training and judgment to deal with that situation and (a private individual) may not," Kapelsohn said.

Durnil said guns are a "no mistake" tool.

"Any mistakes made with a gun have the obvious potential to be fatal," Durnil said. "You have to be perfect." To see more of the Herald-Times or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, Herald-Times, Bloomington, Ind. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

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