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As the economy spirals ever downward the state is being overwhelmed with applications from citizens who want to carry a concealed gun. 95,000 are still waiting on their permits.

The rush to legally carry a weapon comes as food stamp applications and unemployment numbers skyrocket. According to George Sheldon, a DCF secretary, "this is simply an explosion of applications."

Applications for conceal-carry permits began to skyrocket about a year ago. Then the day after the election, fears of stricter gun laws spawned a second wave. Now the threat of a souring economy turning violent is fueling the fire. "People are getting licenses to carry so they can protect themselves and their families."

8.1 percent unemployment and a flood of food stamp applications are overburdening state employees, according to Sheldon, who wants to speed up the application process. "If somebody's hungry, they're not planning to be hungry 30 days from now. They're hungry today."

DCF wants more money to keep up with the demand for food stamps which could keep people from getting desperate. The Department of Agriculture will use money from a conceal-carry trust fund to handle its backlog. "There is a slight bright side to all the increases. Pawn shops and gun stores are seeing a spike in sales and the state is creating jobs to handle the licensing and food stamp applications" according to Liz Compton with the Department of Agriculture.

According to recent statistics, one in ten people are now on food stamps.