By: José Niño

In Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, concealed carry permit applications are soaring.

The bad news is that this surge in concealed carry permits is putting so much pressure on the Allegheny County Courthouse that the earliest time these applicants can receive them is in November.

According to Pittsburgh’s division of CBS Local, upwards of 6,000 people are waiting in line for concealed carry permits. The sheriff’s office is currently scheduling online applicants in five-minute intervals. Although it’s processing 84 permits a day, the applications are delayed for months.

Sheriff William Mullen speculates that the increase in applications is due to the break down in social stability and the uncertainty brought about by the Wuhan virus pandemic.

“People (are) afraid of what’s going on in the country. The unlawfulness. The violent protests. They’re just really worked up about that,” said Sheriff Mullen.

“It makes you think. Yeah. About unrest. You don’t know where anybody’s going any more. You don’t know if it’s safe,” Keith Vangura a resident of Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania said.

Americans still have strong pro-Second Amendment instincts, despite constant media ravings and relentless political pressure against our right to bear arms.

As elected officials hamstring law enforcement and let criminals run loose, Americans are turning to the most reliable way of defending themselves and their loved ones — legally arming themselves.

Rest assured, many other counties across the nation are likely facing similar upticks in permit applications. This is a good “problem” for local governments to have, although, of course, it wouldn’t be a “problem” if Pennsylvania eliminated the requirement to ask the government permission before exercising the Second Amendment.

José Niño is a Venezuelan American freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. Sign up for his mailing list here. Contact him via Facebook, Twitter, or email him at [email protected]. Get his e-book, The 10 Myths of Gun Control, here.