Thousands of North Texans who passed their license to carry (LTC) exams in January and sent off their paperwork still don't have their licenses.
And the only response from the Texas Department of Public Safety is please be patient. Meanwhile, LTC instructors and gun store owners say they're fielding daily phone calls from frustrated customers who are still waiting for their licenses.
"There's plenty of them that call us up, upset with us, wanting to make sure we filed the paperwork like we were supposed to," said David Prince, owner of Lewisville's Eagle Gun Range. "And rightfully so, they're excited and they want their license that they earned and paid for."
One out of 20 Texans over the age of 21 has his or her license to carry, according to DPS.
DPS says it hired more personnel and approved more overtime hours to deal with the backlog of applications.
The state asks applicants who submit their fingerprints and a completed application to be patient for two months, according to automatically-generated DPS status e-mails.
But tens of thousands of Texans are still waiting, some going on five months.
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"They have every right to be frustrated," Prince said.
His instructors have taught 1,300 students at LTC classes this year – a 65-percent increase from last year.
He had 460 students in January, 450 in February, 380 in March and 170 in April.
"It seems like the bubble is starting to burst. That the number of people interested in the classes is dwindling. Starting in December we had just exploded," Prince said. "So we knew that the state [DPS] would take a beating."
Students go through a full day of coursework, classroom lectures and gun-range time in order to get their required paperwork. Then applicants must go to a DPS-approved facility to get their fingerprints recorded.
"You really want that license so you can be able to defend your family, and it is frustrating," Prince said. "They've done everything that's necessary, and it's no fault of their own, and now they're having to wait for something that should have come in some time ago."
Students who sent in their applications to DPS in January got a response telling to them to expect a wait time of eight weeks. It's been nearly 16 weeks, and most of Prince's students are still waiting for their licenses to carry.
"We're sad for them. We know how excited they are. And we really wish we could do something about it," he said.
DPS admits there's a backlog, thanks to a 139-percent increase in applications. Each requires a full background check.
DPS isn't giving precise numbers on how big the backlog still is as summer approaches. But in a statement, the department said it has hired extra personnel working seven days a week to process applications and run background checks.
