Concealed weapons permits

The rules vary tremendously from place to place and are subject to local caprice. There are places in Massachusetts where they immediately push them through, and other places in Massachusetts where they are never granted.

As Peter implied about Massachusetts, in Montana, there is no statewide rule other than each of the 56 county sheriffs sets policy for issue of CWPs.

Simply stated, since 1992 the "must issue" law states that a permit cannot be denied if no justification can be found to withhold. Justification may be a history of mental illness, violence, criminal activity, or the like. Thus, a background check is a usual precaution. Many sheriffs also require proof of firearms training, from military basic training to certification in a personal protection class.

Some sheriffs will not vary from procedure and even pile on more barriers. Others have order immediate issue for specific individuals if convinced of a pressing need.

I believe what you're describing would be a local circumstance and wouldn't be written into statute. It would be something the presiding jurisdiction would handle. Many years ago, our police department laid off 40 officers. As an officer, your badge was your permit, without it, the officer had no right to carry their personal weapons.
They all applied for Carry Permits, and the permits were rushed through the county court for approval.

FYI, In NY, Personal protection by itself, is not a valid reason for a Carry Permit. You need another reason, like you carry bank deposits, or you are a security guard.

Echoing what everyone else has said about it being a local thing, so it depends on the setting of your story.

In Alabama, getting a CCW permit takes less than 10 minutes. You walk into the Sheriff's office, fill out a short form, pay $10, and walk out with an annually renewable permit. Piece of cake.

Since it's up to the sheriff, if the person knew the sheriff (small town, friend of the family, etc) then it might go faster than usual, especially in the senario you give. Some states are very slow, so if it is in such a state there could be a noticable difference.

I don't know all 50 states, but to my knowledge there is nothing in the laws to expidite.

Go to concealedcarry.net and gunlaws.com for info on your state.

Why would someone go to the trouble of expediting issuance of CWP as opposed to simply carrying a gun anyway? After all, in the scenario mentioned,

(receiving death threats, previous attempts made on his or her life, etc)

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having a gun seems more important than having a piece of paper that says your character can have a gun. Surely this is addressed in the story, somewhere?

I checked with my brother, and in Ohio, you can get an emergency temporary license. See section III.

http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/...n/Temporary-Concealed-Carry-License-App-.aspx

This is good to know. I'll bet if Ohio has one then other states do. Of course, as Summonere wrote, most people probably don't bother.

Any idea how long this emergency permit takes to process?

Not sure if it helps but in VA, a permit doesn't take all that long (surprisingly). You fill out the form, take it along w/the required docs to the Sheriff's office for the background check (etc.) and then off to the courthouse to pay your fee. I had my LE paperwork and my DD214 when I first applied and had my permit in hand within 2 weeks. Other family members w/no military or LE background (ie., civilian handgun courses) still had their permits within the month. In fact, in VA if it takes longer than X amount of time you're pretty much "in" (ie., if you haven't been denied prior to a certain time period running out).

In VA, you don't need a CCW to purchase a handgun but you will have to pass the clearance (can take 5 mins to an hour to complete that process), ie., you walk out that same day w/your purchased handgun. Having the permit here does mean you aren't limited to the one handgun purchase a month; you can buy as many as you want for the most part (assuming your clearance checks out and if you've got the permit that's almost a given).

Fredster said:

Echoing what everyone else has said about it being a local thing, so it depends on the setting of your story.

In Alabama, getting a CCW permit takes less than 10 minutes. You walk into the Sheriff's office, fill out a short form, pay $10, and walk out with an annually renewable permit. Piece of cake.

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Yeah--it completely depends on the state. As long as there's time to run a background check (which can be done in minutes), whatever other delay there might be depends completely on local law and local practice. So the OP needs to decide where her story is set and work from there.

The other issue is that some states impose waiting periods before you can buy a handgun. For example, you can go choose a gun, pay for it and have the background check done, but you have to come back X days later to actually pick it up.

Either way... she needs to either pick a setting for her story and research those specific laws, or decide what she needs for her story (does she NEED there to be a process for expediting the permit?) and ask what state/county might have such a thing, and set her story there.

RJK said:

FYI, In NY, Personal protection by itself, is not a valid reason for a Carry Permit. You need another reason, like you carry bank deposits, or you are a security guard.

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This varies by county. In Delaware County, for instance, you can put pretty much whatever you want on your permit app, including "self defense". They only issue unrestrcited, non-expiring carry permits and all you need are four character references and a relatively clean record (no fellonies, domestic violence, mental illness, etc.

To the OP...

Alaska and Vermont both allow you to carry concealed weapons without a permit, though Alaska issues permits so that you can carry in other states that recognize Alaska's permit.

There are several states (I think AZ is one) that allow you to carry a pistol without a permit so long as it is NOT concealed. Texas may be another, but I'm not sure.

Also, many cities (such as NYC in NY) do not honor their state's permits or otherwise restrict the right to carry.

Personally, I agree with Ted Nugent..."the second ammendment IS my concealed carry permit".