Concealed Handgun Permit

I applied for renewal of my Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) today.  It expires on the 9th of February.  Some folks think I'm cutting it close but the Judge will see it next Tuesday. Then the Clerk of the Circuit Court will contact me and I'll present my drivers license and pick it up. Cost was $50. No fingerprints (Which was once a standard part of the process despite every application since 1989 or 1990 being a renewal.). The countdown begins.

Some decry the CHP as an unjust imposition on what should be a right. They refuse to go through the motions. That's fine. I understand. One's life is full of choices. Every choice has consequences. Too many people are depending on me to be there for them so I can't allow my pride to cause me to put myself in a position such that I wouldn't be there. That's my choice. My consequences are that I can legally buy more than one handgun from an FFL holder in a 30-day period (still an issue here in Virginia) and I can legally carry a handgun concealed. The consequences of illegal (note that I am not saying the choice is immoral) concealed carry could be many and far reaching. Not be able to legally buy more than one handgun from an FFL holder in a 30-day period would be a relatively small consequence.

Of course, I had to empty my pockets of all the accumulated nuts, bolts, knives, keys, cell-phone, camera, etc. that I seem to have accumulated this week. You see the courthouse must be pretty scared of somebody out here. It mattered not at all that I had to walk a block from the parking lot to the courthouse stripped of my self-defense options. However, the form and process is now much simpler and I was able to fill out the form and leave it without a couple of visits to the local Police Department for fingerprints, etc. The new form is pretty much a combination of the 4473 and the state equivalent (the number escapes me at the moment). This makes sense as presumably anyone who can legally own a firearm should be able to legally carry concealed.

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Renewed CHP was available today. That's fast service.