By Edgar Sandoval & Corky Siemaszko
Police said the Connecticut town — where 26 students and six staffers were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School during gunman Adam Lanza's massacre — has already had 211 permit requests this year, a number far above the 171 requested in 2012 and the 99 in 2011.
And the surge appears to be fueled by worried residents like 66-year-old Nancy Ellis, a soon-to-be gun-toting grandma who claims Connecticut’s draconian new gun control laws are infringing on her constitutional rights
Newtown, Conn. resident Nancy Ellis filed for this gun permit because she felt her rights were being infringed upon, and fears she may not get the chance in the future due to the state’s tough new laws.
“The fact that they were reeling in and squeezing more laws made me think, ‘You know what? I want my gun permit,’ ” said Ellis. “I want to exercise my right.”
“People think they are trying to take their guns away from them,” said Danny DiLuca (above), co-owner of MD Shooting Sports in Monroe, Conn. “They want to have a right to own a gun and protect themselves.” Connecticut is a open carry state.
Over at MD Shooting Sports gun shop in nearby Monroe, co-owner Mike DeLuca said he’s seen an uptick of customers seeking permit applications, ranging in age from 21 to 83.
“People think they are trying to take their guns away from them,” DeLuca said.
A 55-year-old customer, who identified himself only as Russ, said he recently got his permit, adding that gun ownership is a basic American right.
“What happened was beyond tragic,” he said. “But I don’t believe stronger laws are going to stop what happened.”
“People started thinking, you know what, some crazy person can do that, at the supermarket, anywhere and I won’t have anything to defend myself,” he said. “They were also afraid they were going to enact stricter laws and thought they had a small window of opportunity.”
Erin Nikitchyuk, whose 8-year-old son Bear escaped the Sandy Hook savagery unharmed, said she has no use for a gun and “no issue with responsible gun owners.”
“I do think Newtown is like anywhere else,” she said. “I don’t think people are running out to buy guns to offend anyone.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/request-gun-permits-double-newtown-connecticut-article-1.1426754
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