Sheriff’s office issuing, renewing firearm license once every 5 minutes

PITTSBURGH — Because of the recent spike in COVID-19 cases no walk-ins are allowed at the Allegheny County firearms division, but don’t let the lack of a line fool you. The sheriffs office says on average they’re issuing or renewing one license every five minutes.

“I was surprised when I had to make an appointment three months in advance to come down here to do this,” Jeff Moeslain from Upper St. Clair said.

On an average day the Allegheny County Sheriffs Office renews or issues somewhere between 40 and 80 licenses. These days the number is nearly 300 a day.

For gun owner Moeslain, getting a permit to own a gun is probably a comfort for a lot of people these days.

“There’s just been so much craziness this year I think that there’s a lot of people that feel better being able to do that,” he said.

There could be many reasons for this spike in gun sales. Things like the pandemic and civil unrest have likely played a major role in the purchase of firearms. After an election, people often assume changes could be made to certain gun related laws. While the numbers also include current gun owners renewing a license like Jeff Moeslain, the sheriffs office said the number of people applying for a first-time license is also spiking, It’s likely that almost 2/3 of current applicants are applying for the first time.

“I think alot of people are scared right now,” Tony Kennon said.

Kennon manages a firearms store in McKeesport. He said two days after the election, the store’s entire inventory was sold out.

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