Friday, May 9, 2008

Texas backlogged with CCW permit requests

It is a good problem to have, to have a 40% increase in Texas CCW permit requests:

Last week alone, the state reported processing 1,043 original applications but receiving 1,871 requests.
If that rate were to become a consistent average Texas would have a backlog of requests growing at the rate of about 800 requests/week. By this time next year their backlog could grow by about 42,000 on top of the current backlog they already have which is currently causing permit requests to take 90 days for processing & renewals to take 125 days.

I have a couple of possible solutions for Texas:
  1. Alaska & Vermont style concealed carry - no permit required for anybody legally allowed to be in our Country to conceal carry that is not a prohibited weapon possessor. After all, it is called "bearing arms" which is a constitutionally protected right that shall not be infringed or impaired.
  2. Non-expiring lifetime CCW permits like Indiana: Requiring permits to have an expiration date is a worthless process that has no net benefit - renewals cause extra paperwork & administrative hours for the taxpayers & permit holders to pay for. The permit revocation process is computerized - if the Department of Public Safety revokes a permit for any reason it does not matter what the expiration date says on the permit, so just get rid of it or set it to lifetime - expires when permit holder expires. Arizona currently has a bill under consideration which would do that here if it passes in the House & doesn't get the Napolitano Veto (already passed in the Senate): SB 1106 - lifetime CCW permits.
H/T to Sebastian & Keyboard & a .45

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