Michigan has seen big increase in the number of concealed handgun permits

The Livingston Daily has this story for Michigan.

Gun ownership rapidly on rise in county
BY LISA ROOSE-CHURCH • DAILY PRESS & ARGUS • AUGUST 9, 2009

The number of law enforcement positions in Michigan peaked in 2001 at 23,151. At the end of May, that number had decreased to 21,171, according to statistics compiled by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards.

However, 46 communities recently received funding from a $1 billion economic stimulus program designed to help keep 160 police officers on the job.

In 2008, the number of gun permits issued in Livingston County averaged 78 per month. As of June 24, that number increased to 171 per month.

Statewide, the number of active concealed weapons permits rose more than five times from 53,000 in 2002 to 291,380 in 2008, according to the Michigan State Police's concealed pistol licensure annual report. The CPL was once known as a "carrying a concealed weapons" permit or CCW. . . .

Florida has 601,625 concealed handgun permit holders as of July 31, 2009.

In Texas, at the end of last year there were 314,574 permits.

Adding together just Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Texas, and Virginia indicates that there are almost 2.5 million permit holders just from those five states.