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Police: Woman soliciting in Hanover Township was wanted by sheriffs

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Polish American Congress present awards

<p>The Luzerne County&#8217;s sheriff department issued 7,672 permits to carry concealed weapons in 2016 &#8212; 1,156 more than the previous year, new county statistics show.</p><p>The permits, which cost $20 and are valid for five years, allow guns to be carried inside clothing, bags and vehicle glove compartments and trunks when permit holders leave their residence. Concealed guns are prohibited on many government properties and some other places.</p><p>The increase in permits does not surprise Jamie Gola, a worker at Advanced Arms LLC in Pittston. The gun dealer has serviced &#8220;quite a few&#8221; first-time gun buyers in the last eight months who want to keep their guns accessible when they leave home, she said.</p><p>Gola believes more area residents have safety concerns due to crime and residential turnover in their neighborhoods. She points to one of her relatives, a 69-year-old lifelong local woman, who recently obtained a concealed-carry permit.</p><p>&#8220;She was followed by some unfavorable people and was concerned about her safety. It&#8217;s sad,&#8221; Gola said. &#8220;People are becoming more aware and want to protect themselves.&#8221;</p><p>Robert Wollyung, executive director of the Pennsylvania Sheriffs&#8217; Association, said periodic mass shootings in the nation often spark interest in carrying guns.</p><p>&#8220;It seems to go along with the mood of the public, as they perceive a threat themselves. It&#8217;s simply a reflection of the times,&#8221; said Wollyung, who expects to receive statewide statistics on last year&#8217;s permits in a month.</p><p>County Sheriff Brian Szumski said he hasn&#8217;t received feedback on why permits are up. The number also increased from 5,596 permits in 2014 to 6,516 in 2015, or 920.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t see a clear reason for the increase,&#8221; Szumski said.</p><p>Additional sheriff deputies have been trained to process the applications, allowing the opening of a second station during rushes, Szumski said.</p><p>&#8220;It was busier, but we&#8217;re processing them differently if there&#8217;s an influx,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Permit applications also are accepted in the Hazleton area on Mondays at the office of magisterial District Judge James Dixon in Hazle Township, he said.</p><p>Szumski said last year&#8217;s permit count also includes residents who obtained renewals. The county issued 5,216 concealed-weapon permits in 2011 that would have been up for renewal last year, officials have said.</p><p>Around 33,567 county residents currently hold concealed-carry permits, Szumski said Thursday.</p><p>According to the Crime Prevention Research Center, three states &#8212; Pennsylvania, Florida and Texas &#8212; each have more than a million concealed handgun permit holders. Concealed permits are no longer required in most or all of 11 states, the organization said.</p><p>In another gun-related matter, Szumski and other county sheriffs are no longer involved in approving permits, allowing dealers to transfer ownership of fully automatic machine guns, weapon silencers, short-barrel shotguns and rifles to individuals.</p><p>The federal form to transfer such Class III weapons previously required the &#8220;chief law enforcement officer&#8221; in that jurisdiction to certify he or she has no information indicating the applicant would use the transferred item for an illegal purpose.</p><p>The chief law enforcement officer is typically the county sheriff in Pennsylvania.</p><p>A federal regulation change that took effect in July only requires the chief law enforcement officer to be notified of an application to transfer ownership, according to federal postings. The amended regulation also increased the application requirements for those purchasing Class III weapons through a trust.</p><p>The change stemmed from a push to ensure identification and background check requirements applied equally to both trusts and those acquiring Class III items as individuals, the government said. Chief law enforcement certification was eliminated due to concerns about the additional burden on local entities of examining people affiliated with each trust, it said. Chief law enforcement certification was never required for trust acquisitions.</p><p>When the prior rule was in effect, Szumski provided certifications of individual applicants if background checks and inquiries with local police revealed no concerns. However, his predecessor, John Robshaw, had refused to grant certifications, saying he didn&#8217;t believe citizens should possess these items and didn&#8217;t want to be held responsible if they were involved in a crime.</p><p>The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will continue performing its own extensive background checks and ultimately decides if these weapon transfers are approved, the agency said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Szumski </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_gunsale02.jpg</photo0><caption0>Szumski </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Permits to carry concealed weapons up more than 1,000 in Luzerne County