West Virginia Attorney General Directs Sheriffs to Continue Processing Concealed Carry Licenses
West Virginia Attorney General, Patrick Morrisey, has directed sheriffs to continue receiving and processing concealed carry permits during the emergency period. He urged the sheriffs to accept applications through the mail instead of requiring applicants to attend in person, thus prevent the spread of the virus.
“Nothing in state code requires applicants for concealed handgun licenses to show up in person,” AG Morrisey said.
Applicants could also submit their applications to a dropbox outside their sheriff’s offices. However, they will be required to attend sheriff’s offices for the finalization of processing, including photographing. For applicants requiring photographing, the Attorney General advised sheriffs to schedule appointments to avoid personal contact.
The AG sent letters to 55 counties, giving them guidelines on how they should process applications during the crisis. He said he intends to ensure that residents could still practice their constitutional rights while ensuring their safety.
“While we want our residents to be safe and practice good social distancing, we also want to ensure they can still exercise their right to keep and bear arms.”
Although West Virginia is a constitutional carry state, obtaining a concealed carry license is encouraged because some residents travel across other states. Issuing licenses also helps the state to comply with reciprocity agreements with other states. He said failing to issue licenses could lead to West Virginia losing reciprocity agreements.
“We cannot allow that to happen, and that means continuing to comply with our statutory responsibilities,” the letter read in part.
The letter, however, pointed out that there might be delays because of the shortage of personnel due to the rotation of employees to reduce the exposure time.
Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is pushing universal background checks in our state, and if left unchecked, it will not be long until we see bills like this getting traction in Austin. Texas is embarrassingly ranked 29th for gun rights, and with the help of the political elites in Austin, we will surely rank among New York, California, and Illinois if left to their own devices. Please join our fight today, and help us restore Texas' place as the standard for the U.S.
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