Who Holds a Florida Gun Permit?

A fast-growing trend in Florida broke records for Feburary and March: The number of residents with permits to carry guns is spiking, according to the The Tampa Bay Times.

Times columnist Steve Bousquet reports that nearly 1 million Florida residents hold permits to carry concelaed weapons.

The vast majority are men, and most are over the age of 50.

According to the Free Republic, Florida issues more concealed weapons permits than any other U.S. state. And February and March broke records for monthly gun permits issued in Florida, reports the Tampa Bay Times.

Pinellas County ranks seventh in the state in the number of people who have permits to carry concealed weapons.

Hillsborough is fourth, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

The exact number of concealed weapons permits the newspaper reported for March 2012 was 919,831.

The Florida Department of Agriculture issues concealed weapons permits in Florida.

The ease in which a person in Florida can apply for and receive a concealed weapons permit is coming under scrutiny since the shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, a crime watch volunteer in Sanford.

For more information

• Here is a Frequently Asked Questions column the state publishes on applying fo a gun permit.
• Residents can download an application to carry a concealed permit. According to the state, it will take six weeks to enter information into its database when processing applications, due to the number of requests.