In less than six weeks, 56,000 people applied for a permit under Wisconsin’s new concealed carry law and thousands more bought handguns, swamping the state agency handling the required background checks.

The applicants so far amount to about 1% of the state’s population, and very few of them have been rejected for a permit. The number of state background checks for handgun purchases is also up more than 50% for the year – another sign of the large numbers of people taking advantage of the new concealed carry law.

The state Department of Justice has been able to process all the applications and background checks within the deadlines set in state law, but that task will grow more difficult in the coming days as the time frame for handling concealed carry permits tightens.

And how many were rejected?

As of Dec. 11, a total of 24,821 people had had permits approved by the state and only a small number – 296 people – have been denied, according to new DOJ statistics.

Among those denied, an even smaller number – “fewer than two dozen” – have been rejected because of serious reasons such as their criminal records or mental health history, Brueck said. Most of the other denials are for reasons such as the applicant’s address didn’t match other state records, leaving open the possibility the person could correct that information, reapply and receive a permit

Less than 1%, if that. They are the 1%!??