The policy change, which became effective April 19, was made following a determination by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) that a blanket weapons prohibition on campus is unenforceable, as well as unconstitutional. In an email explaining the policy change to students, Kutztown President F. Javier Cevallos said the university was following the advice of legal counsel to comply with the Second Amendment.

“I can assure you that we have done everything to implement the strongest policy possible, while staying in compliance with constitutional rights,” Cevallos wrote.

With a student body of just fewer than 10,000, Kutztown University is located in a rural area about 15 miles from Allentown, PA. With Kutztown’s recent action, it is expected the 13 other state-run colleges and universities will soon adjust their own concealed-carry policies to comply with federal law.

John Haller, Pennsylvania director of Students for Concealed Carry, welcomed Kutztown’s revised policy, calling it “a positive movement.”

In related campus-carry news, HB 972, which decriminalizes concealed carry on state college and university campuses in Texas, passed the state House of Representatives and has now moved to the Senate floor for action. Currently, students and faculty members are permitted by law to carry guns on public campuses in five states—Colorado, Mississippi, Utah, Wisconsin and Oregon.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, in addition to the five states where campus carry is permitted, 23 states place the decision to ban or allow concealed carry upon each individual college or university. Those states include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia. Prior to the Kutztown University policy changes, there were a total of 206 colleges that allow those holding permits to carry handguns on state campuses, according to data compiled by Students for Concealed Carry.

DeWine said there were 31,407 new licenses and 6,354 renewal licenses issued between Jan. 1 and March 31 in The Buckeye State, compared to 16,823 in the first quarter of 2012 and 64,650 new licenses issued for all of last year.

The 37,761 new licenses issued in the first quarter were more than in all of 2005 (22,457), 2006 (15,751) or 2007(22,103).

“The increase in law-abiding Ohioans seeking concealed carry permits to exercise their Second Amendment privileges is a noteworthy trend” DeWine said. “I look forward to continuing to work with Ohio’s county sheriffs to provide information to Ohioans on this law’s usage.”

The Attorney General’s Office compiles an annual report as required by law about the number of licenses issued each year. Each sheriff must report concealed handgun license statistics quarterly to the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission within the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. Those quarterly statistics are published on the Ohio Attorney General’s website once compiled and verified.

The record first quarter for Ohio CHLs comes off a record-setting 2012, when 76,810 CHLs and renewals issued by Ohio sheriffs.

“The second quarter is normally the busiest of the year for CHL licensing,” wrote Jim Irvine, Chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association Chairman and recipient of the 2011 NRA-ILA Jay M. Littlefield Volunteer of the Year Award.  “If that holds true this year, we will have set a new record for total licenses issued in a year in the next 60 days.”

As of March 31, an all-time record 351,249 Ohio residents were licensed to carry concealed firearms.

Irvine said while it is difficult to point to specific reasons for the first quarter spike, he believes the recent relaxing of some restrictions relating to concealed-carry contributed to the increase.

“It is always difficult to assign specific reasons for behavior, but there is no denying that we have seen strong demand for CHLs since Governor John Kasich signed SB17 (Restaurant & Car Carry Rules Fix) and HB54 (Restoration of Rights) legislation into law,” Irvine said. “In December he signed HB495 (Concealed Carry Modernization) again making the program function better. As we have seen many times in Ohio, when the law is improved, the demand for training and licenses increases.”

That’s why when the Sunshine State was the first to pass the one-million threshold for licensed concealed-weapon permits, those people who pay close attention to national opinions and trends took special notice.

On Tuesday, Dec. 18, the number of Florida CCW-permit holders stood at 1,000,645, according to state Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, whose agency directs the licensing program. Doubling since 2007, the number of permits currently exceeds 5 percent of Florida’s 19.1 million residents.

And last week, it was reported by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services that one particular demographic has seen extraordinary growth in CCW permits over the past decade, news that came as something of a surprise even to staunch supporters of Second Amendment rights and those involved in the firearms industry.

The newly released data indicated that as of March 31, nearly 35,000 women older than 65 are now licensed to carry a firearm for personal and home protection in Florida and its 35 reciprocating states, reflecting an increase of 619 percent for that demographic since the state’s current carry law was implemented in 2004.

Furthermore, in the same time period, the number of Florida CCW permits increased by more than 40,000 for women—463 percent—in the youngest (21-35) age bracket.

End of 2012 numbers indicated about one in five Florida CCW permittees are women, a number that has grown exponentially since 2004. The number of women with concealed carry permits in Florida was approximately 48,000 in 2004, growing to around 146,000 by the end of 2011.

The statistical breakdown of Florida CCW holders is 182,000 in the 18-to-35 age group, 267,000 are between the ages of 36 and 50, 325,000 are between 51 and 65 and 219,000 are 65 and older.

The move was viewed by most observers as company posturing—grandstanding, if you will—as part of the current debate centered at statehouses and on Capitol Hill over the proposed implementation of restrictive firearms laws in the wake of recent tragic events. However, its true impact on firearms buyers and the gun industry is, well, trivial, at best.

According an April 24 report by The Wall Street Journal, GE Capital Retail Bank, based in Fairfield, CT, implemented the new policy “in light of industry changes, new legislation and tragic events that have caused widespread reexamination of policies on firearms.”

However, the statement from GE Capital spokesman Russell Wilkerson also contained the ironic admission that his company’s action was basically meaningless.

That’s because gun sales are an “insignificant and immaterial” part of the company’s business, Wilkerson acknowledged.

GE Capital Finance ceased providing consumer financing for new gun-shop customers in 2008, and recently extended the policy to existing customers. As a result, this week’s decision affects fewer than 75 retailers nationwide.

Currently, just fewer than 60,000 retailers are licensed as federally licensed firearms dealers (FFLs) in the U.S., according to the latest BATFE statistics.

Therefore, the company’s change of policy may affect less than .001 percent of all gun retailers in the country.

Further, in what may verify the new policy’s stated intent as disingenuous, GE Capital’s changes affect only FFL retailers that sell firearms exclusively, not general merchandise stores such as Walmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods and others that sell high volumes of firearms, ammunition and shooting accessories.

Senate Bill 102, “The Second Amendment Protection Act,” also exempts from federal gun control laws all guns manufactured in Kansas that have not left the state.

SB 102 declares:

“The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution reserves to the people, individually, the right to keep and bear arms as that right was understood at the time Kansas was admitted to statehood in 1861, and the guaranty of that right is a matter of contract between the state and people of Kansas and the United States as of the time the compact with the United States was adopted and agreed upon by Kansas in 1859 and the United States in 1861.”

The pro-Second Amendment “nullification” bill is similar to measures first approved in Montana, and subsequently passed in Arizona, Wyoming, Utah, South Dakota and Tennessee.

Described by some as the strongest nullification bill approved by any state thus far, a key provision in the Kansas law reads: “Any act, law, treaty, order, rule or regulation of the government of the United States which violates the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is null, void and unenforceable in the state of Kansas.”

Last week, Gov. Brownback signed another firearms-related measure expanding concealed carry in public buildings in the state. House Bill 2052, which takes effect July 1, also allows state agencies and local governments to continue to prohibit concealed weapons through 2017, but requires them to develop plans for adequate building security. Additionally, the bill directs local school boards, state university presidents and community and technical college boards to designate employees to carry concealed firearms in their buildings, whatever their policies for the general public.

By design, Kansas lawmakers crafted both measures in an effort to attract firearms and ammunition manufacturers from Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland and New York, after those states passed historically restrictive firearms legislation earlier this year.

“The right to bear arms has long been among those constitutional rights held most sacred by the citizens of Kansas,” Brownback said this week in a statement.

A companion measure has been introduced in the Texas House of Representatives.

The Senate bill, introduced by Sen. Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls) is viewed mostly as a symbolic measure, as Texas Gov. Rick Perry and other lawmakers have already been actively courting gun manufacturers to relocate there.

On Monday, April 8, Bold Ideas, Inc., an Oregon company that builds Colt Competition AR-15 platform rifles for the West Hartford, CT-based Colt’s Manufacturing Co., announced its plans to move operations to Breckenridge, TX. According to the Breckenridge Economic Development Corporation, the company was already running a help-wanted ad in the local newspaper, and interviewing for open positions could begin as early as next week.

In recent weeks, it has been widely reported Gov. Perry sent letters to more than 30 out-of-state firearms and accessories manufacturers, notably in states that have passed restrictive new gun laws. Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz also have put the call out to gunmakers to relocate to Texas, including Maryland-based Beretta U.S.A. State Rep. Larry Gonzales (R-Round Rock), said he had written to more than two dozen firearms and accessory manufacturers, specifically inviting them to consider the cities of Round Rock, Taylor or Hutto in his district.

In the end, the lawmakers contend, it’s about jobs and business.

“Firearms manufactures, ammo manufacturers and accessory manufactures are good, high paying jobs and we want them here in Texas,” state Sen. Estes Tweeted. “I filed SB 1467 because I want gun manufacturers to know there’s at least one place where they are welcome.”

During George W. Bush’s first four-plus years in the White House, NICS checks totaled 36,090,415, or about half the number conducted under the Obama Administration.

In 2009, the FBI conducted 14,033,824 NICS checks. By subtracting the totals for January, the month Obama assumed office, the year’s total is 12,819,939. There were 14,409,616 background checks conducted in 2010, 16,454,951 in 2011 and 19,592,303 in 2012. Add the first three months of 2013 (2,495,440, 2,309,393 and 2,209,407, respectively), and the total number of background checks under President Obama comes to 70,291,049.

Other impressive NICS milestones have taken place under the Obama Administration, including a record 35 straight months where NICS figures have increased when compared to the same period the previous year.

In addition, a new single-day record for point-of-sale background checks was established on Black Friday, Nov. 23, 2012, when 154,873 were conducted by the FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). That total was nearly 20 percent more than the previous high of 129,166 set on Black Friday the previous year.

It’s important to note that NICS data does not provide a complete picture of individual firearm sales. NICS is used to check transactions including sales and transfers of new and used handguns and long guns.  Based on varying state laws and purchase scenarios, a one-to-one correlation cannot be made between a firearm background check and a firearm sale.

Nonetheless, the number of NICS checks is considered by the firearms industry as a dependable barometer of gun sales in the U.S.

Updates and revisions made to the AP Stylebook this week regarding firearms and weapons terminology include a detailed description of what the journalistic organization considers standard usage for newspaper and electronic media editors and reporters.

The AP Stylebook was created in 1953 and continues to be the go-to guide outlining grammar, writing style and word choice for working journalists—and journalism schools—across the country and around the world.

On Wednesday, March 27, those journalists who have an online AP Stylebook account that permits access to the guide electronically received an email update on weapon terminology that included the following entry:

assault rifle, assault weapon

Terms for military or police-style weapons that are shorter than a conventional rifle and technically known as carbines. The precise definitions may vary from one law or jurisdiction to another. Although the terms are often used interchangeably, some make the distinction that assault rifle is a military weapon with a selector switch for firing in either fully automatic or semi-automatic mode from a detachable, 10- to 30-round magazine. Comparatively lightweight and easy to aim, this carbine was designed for tactical operations and is used by some law enforcement agencies. The form: an M16 assault rifle, an AK-47 assault rifle, a Kalashnikov assault rifle. An assault weapon is the civilian version of the military carbine with a similar appearance. This gun is semi-automatic, meaning one shot per trigger pull. Ammunition magazines ranging from 10 to 30 rounds or more allow rapid-fire capability. Other common characteristics include folding stock, muzzle flash suppressor, bayonet mount and pistol grip. Assault weapon sales were largely banned under federal law from 1994 to 2004 to curb gun crimes. The form: AR-15 carbine with military-style appearance.

Examples:

Each soldier carried an M16 assault rifle into combat, facing enemy troops armed with AK-47 assault rifles.

Politicians debated sales restrictions on assault weapons, including military-style AR-15 carbines for gun hobbyists.

To the organization’s credit, this week’s AP Stylebook updates included a clear and forthright explanation of the difference between the terms “magazine” and “clip.”

magazine

The ammunition storage and feeding device within or attached to a firearm. It may be fixed to the firearm or detachable. It is not a clip.

clip

A device to store multiple rounds of ammunition together as a unit, ready for insertion into the gun. Clips are generally used to load obsolete military rifles. Clip is not the correct term for a detachable magazine commonly used in modern military rifles, assault rifles, assault weapons, submachine guns and semi-automatic pistols. See magazine.

However, it also included an obsolete and ambiguous definition and description leftover from decades long-passed:

Saturday night special

A compact, relatively inexpensive handgun.

If North Dakota and Indiana join Wyoming with pro-suppressor legislation this year, the number of states permitting the devices for hunting will total 30.

North Dakota House Bill 1282, sponsored by state Representative Joe Heilman (R-45), passed the state Senate by a 29-17 vote on March 18, and now heads to Gov. Jack Dalrymple’s desk, who is expected to sign the bill into law. The measure permits hunters in North Dakota to use lawfully possessed suppressors (also referred to as silencers) on firearms while hunting.

While the North Dakota Game and Fish Department currently allows the use of lawfully possessed suppressors when hunting, there was previously no state statute codifing the practice.

Also on March 18, the Indiana Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee unanimously passed House Bill 1563, legislation that would repeal Indiana’s current prohibition on the use of suppressors while hunting. The measure now heads to the Senate floor for consideration.

During state legislative action in 2012, Arizona, Texas and Oklahoma adopted new laws or regulations allowing for use of suppressors when hunting game.

In 2011, lawmakers in Michigan, Kansas, Washington and Missouri approved measures allowing the personal ownership of suppressors for the first time in those states, bringing the current number of states that allow private possession to 39. It remains against the law to own suppressors in California, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Delaware and Hawaii.

Interest in using suppressors on firearms has increased exponentially in the past few years, as shooters and hunters have become more aware of hearing damage caused by firearms. Suppressors also reduce recoil and muzzle rise, and in many cases help increase accuracy. For hunters, this translates into fewer wounded and lost animals, which is a good thing for sportsmen and wildlife alike.

A firearm sound suppressor is basically a baffle-filled cylinder that attaches to the end of a rifle or handgun barrel. It reduces — but does not eliminate — the audible signature of a shot. While silencers do not totally conceal the sound of a shot, they significantly reduce muzzle report, similar to the way a muffler reduces exhaust noise on a car or truck.

This past weekend, the West Virginia University rifle team won its 15th NCAA national title—the most by any collegiate program—in matches held at Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, beating second-place Kentucky by nine points in the aggregate scoring.

Defending champion Texas Christian University finished third. The Mountaineers’ two-day total—4,679—is the second highest in NCAA Rifle Championship history, bettered only by Kentucky’s title-winning 4,700 in 2011.

Mountaineer senior Petra Zublasing led with way, posting the top overall individual score in both Friday’s .22-caliber smallbore competition and Saturday’s air rifle competition. She also swept both disciplines’ individual titles.

The smallbore competition features 20 shots each from prone, standing and kneeling positions at a distance of 50 feet. The top eight shooters from Friday’s three back-to-back relays advanced to the individual smallbore finals, which Zublasing won with a score of 688.3.

Zublasing was near-perfect, shooting 598 (99-100-100-100-100-99) in the second relay and 103.7 in the final to secure her second national title of the weekend—and the third of her career—with combined total of 701.7. The Appiano, Italy, native is the first shooter to win both NCAA titles at one championship since Alaska-Fairbanks’ Matthew Emmons took the top spots in 2001.

Zublasing shot for Italy in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

“Petra is world-class,” said West Virginia head coach Jon Hammond, himself a former Mountaineer who competed during the 2002-03 season and still shoots on the international level.  “She’s simply one of the best in the world, and to have someone like that makes NCAA competition better. But to have someone like that on your team is huge. She makes everyone on the team better.”

Final Standings and Aggregate Scoring

(Photo: West Virginia University Sports)