Linn concealed weapons permits surge; gun owners face training first

Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner said he's not worried about the sharp increase in the number of residents licensed to carry concealed weapons.

The training program required of all applicants, with its emphasis on the law and the potential liabilities associated with misuse of firearms, balances safety standards and the right to bear arms, Gardner said.

The number of concealed-weapons permits issued in Linn County has exploded this year, said Bob Godlove, chief instructor of the four-hour mandatory course.

During the first three months of last year, when Don Zeller was sheriff, Linn County issued just 24 concealed-weapons permits. During the first three months of this year, with Gardner as sheriff, Linn County issued 103 such permits, and the surge has since accelerated, with an average of 87 permits per month issued from April through September.

Each of those permit holders has passed a written test on the content of the course and demonstrated proficiency with a handgun on the firing range.

Each of them also has answered to their own satisfaction the fundamental question facing all applicants for a permit to carry concealed weapons: Could you, if necessary, end the life of another human being?

“Bad guys are sociopaths,” Godlove told the 65 applicants attending last week's class at the Izaak Walton League clubhouse on 42nd Street NE. “They will take your gun away and shoot you with it. So be sure you can end a life if necessary.”

Godlove of Cedar Rapids and Rex Glasgow of Marion, both certified National Rifle Association instructors, emphasize in the curriculum the risks and responsibilities inherent in the right to bear arms.

In addition to the training, two background checks are conducted on each applicant to screen for felony convictions, a history of domestic abuse and addiction to drugs or alcohol, the sheriff said.

Increased concerns about personal safety and home security have been a factor in the recent spike in handgun interest in Iowa and the rest of the nation, said John Allen of Marion, the lead instructor for an NRA basic handgun course held last month in Central City.

Highly publicized violent crimes, such as the assault on Cedar Rapids police officer Tim Davis and the home break-in and sexual assault of a 70-year-old woman, have fostered the perception that the Cedar Rapids-Iowa City corridor is becoming a more dangerous place, said Godlove.

Allen and Godlove said a suspicion that the Obama administration wants to restrict gun ownership also has contributed to the upsurge in handgun interest.

Fontaine Walker, a 39-year-old Cedar Rapids dentist, husband and father, said he attended the basic pistol class last month “because I don't want to become a victim.”

Walker, who works days at the Anamosa State Penitentiary and nights in his own Marion practice, said he worries that would-be criminals might think a dentist has drugs and money.

“As a business owner and family man, I want to be protected,” he said.

Sheri Zevenbergen, 34, of rural Alburnett, said she signed up for the basic pistol course in part to share her husband's interest in target shooting and in part to increase her personal security.

“I feel safe when my husband is home, but not so much when I'm alone,” she said.

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