After NRA-backed reforms to Missouri’s Right-to-Carry law resulted in so many additional applicants that Jackson County alone faced a backlog of 21,000 applications—forcing the sheriff's department to recommend that applicants schedule an appointment at least 90 days in advance—county officials have now approved the hiring of two additional part-time staffers to help the five other employees who process permit applications.
Paperwork first started piling up three years ago, when the first generation of permits—issued in 2005—came up for renewal. Since then, the backlog, along with the resulting wait times, have only increased, causing frustration among many gun owners.