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Washington County Sheriff Jerry Dunbar says his office has been extra busy the first six months of this year.  He says since the new gun law took effect the first of the year, he has seen 200 permits to acquire.  Last year, 321 permits to acquire were requested.  Sheriff Dunbar says he has already seen more than three times more requests for carry permits than all of last year.

This increase is the result of a change in the law that took effect the first of the year.  Iowa is a “shall issue” instead of a “may issue” state.

The permits issued are valid for five years if the person applying passes all background checks.  Sheriff Dunbar says so far this year he has rejected nine applications compared to eight last year.

He adds based on the current trend, his office will have processed around 1000 permits to carry for the year.