Personal protection is our birthright, Utah draws thousands gun permit

Gun rights of the individual do not belong in the hands of the bureaucracy. Self protection is the right of everyone!

Government's stupidity (what a shock?) take away the right of protection in the places where personal protection is needed most! Go to a city hall, municipal, building, county office, State and Federal Buildings and Courthouses. You are subjected to airport like metal detection and pat down for the protection of the 'more than equal' government employees. The irony is that everyone is more vulnerable since they have been disarmed. Why are we not surprised when there are shootings that take place inside these hollowed halls because some specially treated government person was able to smuggle in a gun with everyone else made defenceless. The same is even more true in school, where there is an open invitation to psychopathic cowards to kill the unprotected en mass!

Utah draws thousands for no-shooting-required gun permit | Reuters

(Reuters) - Texans seeking concealed handgun licenses are increasingly turning to Utah, a state that does not require actually shooting a gun to get a permit.

"Once the word got out, everybody was doing it," said Texas state Rep. Lon Burnam.

From 2009 to 2010 the number of Utah permits issued to Texans more than doubled to 5,678 from 2,173, according to Utah's Bureau of Criminal Identification. Of the 66,371 permits Utah issued last year, more than 70 percent went to out-of-staters, bureau figures show. All this was while the overall number of concealed licenses issued in Utah declined.

Utah requires only four hours of training and no shooting, while Texas requires 10 hours, including firing a gun on a shooting range. The Utah fee is $65, compared to $140 in Texas. And it's possible to get a Utah permit without ever setting foot in that state.

"It's easier," said Carrie Kroll of the Texas Pediatric Society, who got a Utah permit in advance of the Texas legislative session that began in January. "I know just enough to understand what I don't know."

The Utah course teaches how to safely load, unload, store and carry a firearm, and explains Utah and federal laws on use of force by private citizens. Participants learn basic gun safety, such as treating all firearms as if they are loaded, and they learn about the parts of a gun, different types of ammunition and various shooting positions.

Utah applicants do not have to take a test while applicants to the Texas program do.

[more at abpve link]