By Dave Workman | Editor-in-Chief
Conservative Firing Line is reporting that several law enforcement agencies in Washington state are still not accepting new applications for concealed pistol licenses, and data from the state Department of Licensing and the FBI National Instant Check System (NICS) suggests are thousands of people who might want one.
The FBI reported Wednesday that NICS checks for June set a new record. More than 3.9 million checks were initiated, indicating heavy gun buying across the country, even though the agency emphasizes that the raw numbers do not translate one-on-one to actual gun sales, as noted in an earlier report.
Gun sales are up across the country, including Washington state, but for the past three months, the total number of active CPLs has declined by more than 6,000, according to the Conservative Firing Line report and the state licensing agency.
Local law enforcement agencies continue to renew CPLs, but new gun owners, or even old-timers who want to legally carry a concealed sidearm are presently denied that opportunity.
TGM checked the licensing data and found a decline in active Washington CPLs of more than 6,000 licenses between April 1 and July 1. According to DOL data, there were 644,345 active CPLs Wednesday, and back in April the agency reported 650,403 active licenses.
The story quotes Steve Strahan, executive director of the Washington State Sheriffs and Police Chief’s Association, explaining that agencies are trying to serve the public, but with the sluggish, phased-in recovery in Washington State, those agencies are concerned about the health of their employees.
However, state law nor the state constitution contain provisions to allow a suspension of rights due to a problem such as COVID-19.
Washington state statute says this:
“The chief of police of a municipality or the sheriff of a county shall within thirty days after the filing of an application of any person, issue a license to such person to carry a pistol concealed on his or her person within this state for five years from date of issue, for the purposes of protection or while engaged in business, sport, or while traveling. However, if the applicant does not have a valid permanent Washington driver’s license or Washington state identification card or has not been a resident of the state for the previous consecutive ninety days, the issuing authority shall have up to sixty days after the filing of the application to issue a license. The issuing authority shall not refuse to accept completed applications for concealed pistol licenses during regular business hours.” (Emphasis added)
To complete the application, fingerprinting is required.
Washington State’s right-to-bear-arms constitutional provision says this:
“The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men.”
The Second Amendment Foundation, located in Bellevue—just across Lake Washington from Seattle—has received inquiries from several gun owners about this problem over the past 90 days.
While some counties have resumed their application process, they require appointments, along with certain protocols such as masking and hand-washing.
But in King County, where there were 102,170 active CPLs on July 1 (down from the 104,202 posted April 1) the sheriff’s department is still not accepting new applications and neither is the Seattle Police Department, according to its website.
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