CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA -- The number of Iowans with permits to carry concealed weapons increased dramatically in 2012, the second year of relaxed laws that govern how they're issued.
The Associated Press reports that sheriffs in Iowa's 99 counties issued more than 37,000 permits in the first 11 months of the year.
Nearly 103,000 were issued in 2011, the first year after Iowa went from a "may issue" to a "shall issue" state.
State data shows that 1.3 percent of Iowans had permits at the end of 2010, before the law changed. The percentage increased to 3.3 percent at the end of last year, and stood at 4.6 percent through the first 11 months of this year.
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