Which County Has Most Gun Permits?

There are a lot of residents licensed to pack heat in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. The combined total tops 80,000 people.

But neither Tampa Bay county is No. 1. This interactive map shows gun ownership by the numbers, based on how many concealed weapons permits are issued by the state.

Gun laws are being debated in the Florida Legislature in the aftermath of the shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed teenager in Sanford.

Gun control advocates are arguing to overturn the state's "Stand Your Ground" law. Gov. Rick Scott also has formed a committee to host a series of town meetings across Florida about the state law.

Not surprisingly, the No. 1 Florida county for the sheer number of people licensed to carry concealed weapons is Miami-Dade County, which has a national reputation for violent crime.

Because of its large population, the number is only 3.3 percent of the overall county population.

But the No. 1 county, with more than 10 percent of the population licensed to carry guns, is rural Dixie, located in the Panhandle, followed by Monroe County, located in the Florida Keys, at 7.3 percent.

• Tampa Bay counties with high rankings for concealed gun permits are Hillsborough, at No. 4, for the sheer number, with 45,447 residents licensed to carry them.
• Pinellas County is at No. 7, by sheer number of licensees, with 36,498.
• Both Pinellas and Hillsborough counties fall toward the bottom of counties with the proportion of residents to county population who hold state permits to carry concealed weapons. Hillsborough ranks 53, with 3.7 percent of its population, and Pinellas is at 45, with 3.9 percent of its population licensed to carry concealed weapons.