It averages a few (CCW)  a day but this week there were nearly  100  waiting in line for a Carry Permit every day.
The process only cost $20, a PICS check and a photo taken with State funds ; which normally takes 10-15 min. total. However, some CCW seekers were waiting over 2 hours for a permit.





http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2015/12/29/Allegheny-County-Sheriff-s-office-gets-late-year-rush-for-permits-to-carry-guns/stories/201512290081

All day Monday, against a holiday backdrop, a continuous line of people waited outside the Allegheny County Courthouse to apply for licenses to carry a concealed firearm.

Many were there simply to renew the five-year permits they’d previously gotten, but others, citing personal safety and fear of mass shootings, were first-timers.

Larry D’Agostino, 44, of Monroeville, has been thinking about getting a license to carry for years and decided to do it after the recent terror attacks in Paris and the mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif. Waiting in line with his wife and young daughter, he said he had never been in a situation where he felt like he needed a firearm but instead was prompted by “what’s been happening in the world today.”

While he owns a hunting rifle, Mr. D’Agostino, who works in sales, now will buy a handgun for self- and home-protection, as well as target shooting, he said.

His reasons were echoed by many, and Allegheny County Sheriff Bill Mullen said the most recent spike in numbers started in November after the attacks in Paris, and again after the Dec. 2 mass killings at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.

“Obviously, that’s driving the license to carry. Any time you have a mass shooting, it jumps,” he said. “People think, sooner or later, it’s going to happen here.”

Typically, his office processes 50 to 60 applications. On Monday, he expected to go over 160.

Initially, Sheriff Mullen expected that the numbers for 2015 would be lower than last year, when 17,458 people in Allegheny County were issued permits. But the numbers in November set the county up to eclipse that, with 1,942 applications processed. That was 815 more than in November of last year.

Chelsea Taylor, a 23-year-old graduate student, said she was getting her license to carry because her husband, who is in the military, insisted that she apply for one. He cited recent instances of terrorism as the catalyst.

Ms. Taylor’s mom, who joined her in the sub-40-degree temperatures near lunch time, said she understood her daughter’s decision, but didn’t like it

“Someone could disarm her and use it on her,” said Debra Taylor. “She’s not a very large person.”

But her daughter said she didn’t intend to let that happen.

“I’m going to go down fighting,” Chelsea Taylor said.

The $20 licenses are good for five years and are issued after a background check through the Pennsylvania State Police instant check system. They are typically approved on the same day, but because of the volume of applications with the state, the wait time can be as much as two hours.

“The other sheriff’s departments are experiencing the same thing,” Sheriff Mullen said.

Amber Fisher, a chief warrant officer who spent nine years on active duty and has been in the Army Reserves for 18 more, got her license to carry five years ago.

Monday morning, she stood in line to get it renewed, thinking there would be no wait. Although having a license to carry is not required as part of her military duty, Ms. Fisher said having a firearm with her makes her feel safer.

“It’s for personal protection.”

A linguist based at Fort Meade in Maryland, Ms. Fisher was in France the day of the Paris attacks, having arrived that morning to prepare for an immersion program for soldiers to perfect the language.

Her hotel — three minutes from the bombing site — was locked down, and it wasn’t until the next afternoon that she was permitted to leave to travel to the embassy. The streets were empty, she said.

“I felt really exposed not having a weapon on me,” she said, noting that in France, citizens are not permitted to carry concealed weapons. “The duty didn’t call for it.”

Paula Reed Ward: pward@post-gazette.com, 412-263-2620 or on Twitter: @PaulaReedWard.

Second Story with video






http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2015/11/18/local-gun-permit-applications-surge-after-paris-attacks/

Down in the basement of the Westmoreland County Courthouse is a small office that’s always buzzing with activity. This is where law-abiding citizens come to get their concealed carry permits for firearms.

“I’ve actually gotten a lot of phone calls on the subject of the people’s right to bear arms and carry,” Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held said.

But in the last few days, business has picked up in a big way.

“Permit applications are up 50 percent since last week,” Held said.

Waiting a couple hours for a CCW vs waiting weeks for a denial letter?
Sounds like a dream.
The process in the great 808 state.....not what it should be.

I would love waiting in a line for that here.

"The $20 licenses are good for five years and are issued after a background check through the Pennsylvania State Police instant check system. They are typically approved on the same day, but because of the volume of applications with the state, the wait time can be as much as two hours."

I HAVE A DREAM...

No training is required , thus everybody and their grandma has a permit here.

Thus, Everyone in our family and extended families  has a permit.