91,651.
That’s how many concealed-carry gun permits were issued in Illinois last year.
The Illinois State Police started issuing permits a year ago. You may remember that Illinois was the last state in the union to pass a law allowing its residents to carry concealed handguns.
After much legal wrangling, the law went into effect Jan. 1, 2014.
And, so far, 91,651 Illinoisans have been granted a permit to go loaded. What does that number tell us, if anything?
There are – at least – 91,651 angry or scared people in Illinois? Or, maybe 91,651 is simply a number.
But numbers often signify more than just a bunch of things.
How can we (can we?) use the information the number of concealed-carry permits gives us. For instance, of the 91,651 permits issued, 24,000 – approximately one-quarter – were issued to Cook County residents.
Does that tell us anything?
One thing that 24,000 number tells us is that we Cook County residents can kick the butts of the residents of any other county in Illinois.
Lake County with its piddling 4,252 gun permits wouldn’t stand a chance against us Cook Countyers (Cookers?).
Even if Lake County formed an alliance with DuPage County, the combined firepower of those two counties would be less than half of we Cookers.
Not that we Cookers are a violent or aggressive people. We would not attack neighboring counties, even if they provoked us by – oh, say – selling gasoline cheaper than we do in Cook County.
There would be no need for violence. Diplomacy would settle the situation satisfactorily. If those other counties with fewer gun permits were reminded of that fact, they would no doubt see the light.
And that, perhaps, is the real significance of the number on concealed-carry permits issued in Illinois. It can be used to set a priority list for state services and resources.
How can Illinois legislators determine how to allocate finite state resources? How about by the number of gun permits issued in each county? Cook with 24,000 permits gets more. Will County with 6,134 gets less. Proportionately.
We Cookers are not hogs. We only want what is due us.
We Cookers would tread lightly, as befitting calm, quiet strength of true Americans. There would be no need for us to parade our strength.
The numbers speak for themselves.
Just count the permits.