For the past few weeks we've been reporting on the growing number of Garden State municipalities that are refunding residents $150 of the $200 application fee for concealed carry permits; a welcome move meant to not only make it more affordable to exercise our Second Amendment rights, but to send a message to lawmakers in Trenton that these fees are unconstitutional to begin with.
To date, these efforts have been confined to New Jersey, but there's evidence that the refund revolution is starting to spread to other states as well. This week the new sheriff in Wythe County, Virginia announced that he too is slashing the cost of a carry permit for county residents.
Sheriff Anthony Cline's announcement came just a couple of days after Sheriff Charles Foster retired after more than 38 years with the department, and was one of the first official moves Cline made after he was sworn in.
In a letter to the circuit court clerk, who issues the concealed handgun permits in the county, Cline said that his office will no longer "collect the Sheriff's fee associated with Concealed Handgun Permit applications," reducing the cost for applicants from $50 to $15.
Cline explained that:
As sheriff, I do not believe citizens should be charged to exercise their constitutional rights. My duty is to protect those rights, not to profit from them. Removing this fee reflects my commitment to supporting law-abiding gun owners and upholding the principles of the Second Amendment.
This is a great move, and one that I hope the other 119 sheriffs in Virginia will soon adopt. The $50 fee isn't all that exorbitant, especially compared to those jurisdictions in California where a two-year permit runs more than $2,000, but as Sheriff Cline says, citizens shouldn't be charged a penny to exercise their constitutional right.
I'd love to see more states adopt Indiana's policy of issuing permits without charging any government fees, but in the meantime the efforts of Second Amendment supporters like Englishtown Borough, New Jersey Mayor Daniel Francisco and the Wythe County, Virginia sheriff should be applauded by 2A advocates and activists.
I've reached out to Sheriff Cline's office with an invite to join me on Bearing Arms' Cam & Company in the near future. I'm sure the sheriff is still settling into his new role, but I hope he'll be able to carve out a few minutes to flesh out his reasoning for deciding not to collect the fee he's allowed to charge under state law for issuing carry permits.
Virginia gun owners, meanwhile, should contact their own county sheriff and ask that they follow Wythe County's lead. I doubt that sheriffs in the D.C. suburbs will do so, but there are dozens of counties across the Commonwealth where sheriffs have taken active and vocal roles in supporting our right to keep and bear arms. Cline's shown us all how these sheriffs can put their money where their mouths are, and now it's up to them to show us that their professed support for the Second Amendment isn't just lip service.
Editor’s Note: Second Amendment supporters are doing everything they can to protect our right to keep and bear arms.
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