Gun Permit Applications On the Rise in Middletown Township

The number of applications for firearms ID cards and pistol permits has been steadily rising in Middletown Township.

"For past four years, gun permits in this town are way up," said Middletown Township Police Chief Robert Oches in an interview last week. 

Between 2007 and 2012, MTPD approved three times as many NJ firearm ID card cards, and more than twice as many pistol purchase permits.

Many believe the surge in demand comes from fear that more stringent firearm regulations will take place under President Barack Obama's administration.

About 10 to 15 applications are denied each year, said Oches, who signs off on each approval. "It is usually because the applicant omits essential information on the application form, such as a criminal record or treatment of a mental or psychiatric condition, he said. 

Middletown Township, NJ approved firearm transactions

Firearms Purchaser ID Cards (for rifles and shotguns)

The township collects a nominal fees for the processing of applications. A yellow firearms purchaser identification card is $5, and the permit to purchase a handgun is $2. The fee to be fingerprinted through the state police MorphoTrak system is $18.

Editor's note: This story was edited on Jan. 22 to correct Chief Robert Oches comment. He said he denies 10 to 15 applications a year -- not 10 to 15 percent of applications each year.