In Illinois, gun permit applications outpace ObamaCare sign-ups In two weeks, nearly 22,000 Illinois residents have applied online for a permit to carry a gun, according to the State Police. About 61,000 have selected an insurance plan through the state's Obamacare website, according to numbers from the state. In three months. Of the 21,794 people who have applied for a permit to carry a gun, police have deemed 1,600 invalid or incomplete. State Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford, said when considering Illinois has been promoting Obamacare for years, and spending hundreds of millions of dollars to do so, the numbers - 61,111 - seem even more outrageous. "These (gun owners) are individuals who have taken the time on their own to get the training, to get all that's required to get a license," Syverson said. Without any government assistance, without spending money, without encouragement from the government to get people to sign up. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services disclosed the Obamacare numbers Monday, but the agency did not say how many people in the state have bought health insurance, nor did HHS expound on demographics.