100,000 concealed carry permits issued since Wisconsin law went into effect

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Department of Justice says it's issued at least 100,000 concealed carry permits since the new law went into effect about six months ago.

The agency is required to process applications within 21 days and has been scrambling to keep up with demand. The DOJ initially hired extra staff and moved dozens of administrative workers from elsewhere in the agency to help with concealed carry applications. The rush of application submissions eventually slowed, from thousands a day to hundreds.

The agency has also been overwhelmed with calls to its handgun hotline since the law took effect. Gun dealers call the hotline to initiate background checks on buyers, which must be done within 48 hours. There were nearly 16,000 hotline calls in February alone.

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