People in Guilford County have a right to apply for and get a concealed carry permit for handguns – however, one recent speaker before the Guilford County Board of Commissioners said the delays for doing so are outrageous and she knows many other applicants who are fed up as well.
Marcia Cain, a Burlington woman who applied for her concealed carry permit in Guilford County nearly 11 months ago, came before the Guilford County Board of Commissioners in May and said the current delays in the process are ridiculous.
She said she’s aware that things have slowed down due to the pandemic, but now, as she approaches a year without her request being met, that excuse is wearing very thin.
The permit process is handled by the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department. However, Cain came to speak to the Board of Commissioners, she said, because she was tired of getting the runaround.
“The reason why I am coming here today is to inquire about delays in receiving my concealed carry license in Guilford County,” she told the nine-member board as one of the first in-person public speakers from the floor since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
She said she took her concealed carry class on July 25 of 2020, scheduled an appointment for September but then was told the earliest appointment would be in December. In December of 2020, she attended the meeting and filled out all the necessary documentation.
Four months later, on April 12, Cain said, she inquired about the holdup and was told that the department was waiting on the results of her background checks. She asked who she could talk to about the extended delay and was informed that the Guilford County Board of Commissioners was an option.
“Here I am mid-May and I still haven’t gotten anything,” she said, adding that it was now two months shy of a year since she’d begun the application process.
“I understand we have been dealing with a pandemic,” she said, but she reiterated that taking almost a year to allow citizens to protect themselves was outlandish.
Cain said she’d also spoken with people from her class and other permit applicants, and she had found out many of them had been waiting a very long time.
“It’s not just me,” she said. “There are hundreds of others waiting.”
Cain added that she had been unable to get any straight answers.
She said she’d been told that it was the psychiatric checks and background checks that were taking so long.
“If this is the law, that says you have to do the background checks, why isn’t it more streamlined? Why doesn’t anybody know what’s going on? Why am I waiting almost a year for this? I have waited long enough. I have done everything legally. I have paid. What am I supposed to do?”
Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Skip Alston said that he and other commissioners were aware of the problem.
“We are working on that issue – I can assure you of that,” Alston told her.
It’s comforting to know Skip went all out to give a complete & detailed answer.
“We will ignore you on that issue – I can assure you of that,” Alston meant to tell her.
How is sheriffs dept handling renewals
I suppose they are behind as well
Sheriff Barnes had a great system that was very smooth for renewal
Barnes didn’t have anywhere near the volume of applications that have poured in since Uncle Joe & His Girl/Handler made it on the ballot. Think exponents rather than percentages. The County sets the number of positions that work any given role, not the Sheriff. Sad, but true.
Now we have the word from Skippy himself.They are working on that–that should suffice.
Gosh I feel better.
Can you say GUN CONTROL?
Illegal guns are everywhere but someone willing to follow the rules waits 10 months plus?
I applied July 20, 2020 and finally recieved mine May 28, 2021….
Can a refund of the funds I have paid be reimbursed? They have my money and with no results. Perhaps we need a new sheriff. This did not happen with B. J. Barnes.
Bingo! Wish BJ he would run again.
TUVM, Skip. I feel better now. Our govt in(action). It is intentional. The LEFT doesn’t want our citizens armed. It is our defense against tyranny, both foreign and domestic.
The lady is right. It IS ridiculous!
I had to wait 5 1/2 months just for my RENEWAL. They did however, re-date my expiration to the final approval I got last month.
The word I got was that the “contractors” that did background checks were the slow-down problem.
I can’t wait to see how Skip Alston handles this with his best bud sheriff Rogers. I guess he is trying to find another race card in the deck. The reason that people are not getting a reason for the delays is because the reason is the lack of leadership within the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office. If you check with Alamance, Rockingham, Davidson and other Sheriff’s Offices in the state you may find a few delays, but, nothing like Guilford County. The voters got what they wanted when they voted in Rogers and they have to live with it until we are able to elect a new SHERIFF in 2022. Can’t hardly wait for Sheriff Phil Byrd in 22. Maybe then Law Enforcement in Guilford County will return to what the tax payers need and pay taxes for.
Her option is to sue Sheriff Rogers just like the Sheriff in Wake County was sued for the same darn shenanigans. Sheriff Baker got his act together and the lawsuit was resolved. She should consider reaching out to Paul Valone with Grassroots North Carolina. Squeaky wheel gets the grease!
It’s really sad that “they’re working on it” and yet………. Last year, it was also impossible to get a concealed carry permit, so I bypassed that and just got a permit to buy, which still took a couple of months. With the Sheriff’s department and the Board of Commissioners working on it, you’d think someone could speed it up.
It took ten months when I got my permit in Guilford County. In the 00’s…
They still don’t have their act together.
Meanwhile 21 other states have constitutional carry, no permits or fees and bowing to the queen for permission.
North Carolina needs to pass House Bill 197.
To the person that said this is because of Biden – that’s not accurate because I got mine in 2019 preCovid and it still took ~9 months start to finish. Trump was the POTUS back then.
This has always been an issue – just now people are more aware and demand for them is higher.
That is a bunch of crap excuses. Other counties around guilford can get permits in people’s hands within 5 or 6 weeks. They have the same requirements for checks. And why should you have to wait six months to get fingerprints and the process started. It is a bunch of excuses to keep people from being protected
Da Gov doan’ want you to have no guns in yer poket.
Perhaps we should just all begin to open carry in NC, maybe that would solve all of the problems we’re facing with one simple and less expensive defiant act.
Typical Government Inefficency.
Why bother with all this NC is an open carry state clip it to your belt have it in plain sight when driving and it’s no problem after taking the concealed class I was told by an attorney I had more responsibility if I had the permit so I opted not to get it.
Just more government RED TAPE. Not only that you are dealing with a bunch of Democrats.Just look at all blue states that are led by Democrats. Those states are behind the red states in everything from schools to the economy.Thry care nothing for the brown and black skinned people in particular and their states as a whole.Look at the rest of North Carolina they are behind in everything as well.Private schools in the county have been open since September of last year.Public schools are just opening at the time of closing within a couple weeks.wise up people get rid of all Democrats!!!!
Started my CC renewal in Nov 2020. Today is 6/21/21 and I am still waiting. The Guilford county sheriff is a joke. My best friend lives in Davidson county, completed his class and turned in his CC paperwork and certificate on 6/3/21. He received a call from a real sheriff, Richie Simmons, on Friday 6/18/21 thanking him for supporting the 2nd amendment and to let him know his CC permit is ready for pick up. You can bet your a$$ I will be supporting whoever runs against Rogers in 22′.
Finally received my renewal 370 days after applying. Rogers is a complete clown.
This is 100% corruption. The government is controlling the people, as it always does, for its own ends. There is NO reasonable and believable reason, at this point, for the length of time of these delays. I also got the BS excuse that “we are waiting on mental health institutions across the state to clear your background.” Really? I’ve never visited such a facility. How long should they be required to take? Is there no computer check possible? It’s been almost a year since I started this process. Clearly, the local government has been instructed by those who control it to delay this process.