Concealed Weapons Permits: Florida Tops 1.4 Million

Tallahassee, FL — The number of Floridians legally packing heat has officially topped 1.4 million.

That’s according to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which reports it issued nearly 160,000 new concealed weapons licenses in 2015 alone.

Those numbers were released Tuesday along with an announcement of other facts and figures related to the agency. Other accomplishments including the recovery of more than $3 million for Florida consumers and the oversight of prescribed burns on more than 246,000 acres.

“Every year we strive to provide even better service to Floridians, and in 2015, we made department-wide enhancements that increased customer convenience when applying for concealed weapon licenses, strengthened consumer protection, and safeguarded Floridians and property from wildfires,” Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam said in a statement. “These examples are only a few among many accomplishments that the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services achieved in 2015 on behalf of Floridians.”

The rise in concealed weapons permits is attributed to a number of factors. Putnam reported that more than 18,394 concealed weapons licenses were issued to active duty military members and veterans after July’s announcement that expedited permits would be made available to them. Enhanced partnerships with local tax collectors’ offices across the state also increased the number of locations where people can apply for licenses to 20, up from 15.

All told, the agency issued 157,972 licenses in 2015, Putnam said. That number brings the state’s total to more than 1.4 million, the most of any state in the nation. Pennsylvania is No. 2 with just over 1 million permits, according to Politifact.

Other 2015 highlights for the agency include:

• Fielding more than 38,000 consumer complaints and recovering more than $3 million on behalf of consumers
• Recovering more than 160 skimmers on gas pumps statewide
• Trading more than 246,000 acres of state forests with prescribed burns
• Ushering in the official opening of the newest state forest, Newnan’s Lake State Forest, in Gainesville

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