Florida has decided to expedite more than 50,000 concealed carry permit applications for active duty members of the military and  military veterans. According to Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam, the decision stemmed from the attacks against military personnel in Chattanooga last summer.

“The men and women who serve and have served our country deserve all of the support we can provide,” Putnam said. “I’m pleased that we have been able to expedite so many active military members and veterans’ applications for a concealed weapon license.”

In order to expedite their CCW permits, active military personnel should include the following documents with their application:

• A copy of their Common Access Card or other form of military identifications OR
• Current orders as proof of active duty status

Honorably discharged veterans should include a copy of their DD 214 long form with their applications.

To make it even easier for military personnel to apply for a CCW permit, tax collectors across the state can now collect applications, take fingerprints and photographs and send the packet to the department to process. A total of 36 county tax collectors are participating.

This is great news for our military personnel who fight for our freedoms! We trust them to protect us at home and abroad. It makes perfect sense for them to have CCW permits. If they can be trusted to utilize weapons overseas, they can and should be trusted to use them for protection here at home.