Permits serve as legal ‘insurance’ for pistol owners in Pennsylvania
If you have a pistol at your house for protection or just like plinking around with it on the range, you don’t need a permit to carry the gun. However, if you want to conceal a handgun in your pocket while hunting or occasionally have a pistol in your vehicle, it’s a good idea to apply for a permit.
“I call it like an insurance policy,” said Dusty Weir, chief deputy sheriff in Somerset County. For $20, you receive a permit that’s good for five years to carry a pistol. “It covers being concealed and in your vehicle,” he explained.
You don’t need a permit to be a gun owner or to hunt with a pistol carried in an outside holster, but if you have the pistol concealed in your pocket or under your coat, you need a permit.
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“It’s for your protection,” he said about eliminating most concerns about how to carry or transport a handgun.
Permit applications rising
The advice comes as Weir believes the interest in getting carry permits has almost doubled in their office over the past two years.
In Somerset County, they have a steady stream of people applying for – as well as renewing – permits. On Jan. 13, they had 708 approved permits waiting for people to stop in and have their photo taken to finalize the process.
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Kami Hearn, clerk of civil process, said there are a lot of women applying, too. “There’s just as many women as men anymore.”
In 2021, the rural southwestern county office processed 3,282 permits, which is an average of more than 63 every week of the year. Some years the numbers differ because of the five-year cycle. If there was a national event or a political reason for people to want to buy a gun, application processors will see that increase reappear every five years when those people renew. Weir estimates there are probably 20,000 permit holders in the county of about 74,000 adults and children.
As of Jan. 3, the firearms division of the state police approved more than 1.5 million gun carry applications in Pennsylvania. When you realize there are just under 13 million people in the entire commonwealth, including those who are too young to own a pistol, that’s a significant portion of the population that has a permit for self defense, employment, hunting and fishing, target shooting and gun collecting.
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If you are carrying your handgun in your pocket or loaded in your car without a permit, there are significant fines.
The law regarding handgun permits reads, “Any person who carries a firearm concealed on or about his person except in his place of abode or fixed place of business without a valid and lawfully issued license commits a felony of the third degree.”
Missy Truscott, real estate division of the Somerset County sheriff's office, said the applicants mark the self-defense box, which covers all the of the reasons people can apply for a permit. She also pointed out that while the Second Amendment provides the right for Americans to bear arms, there are regulations for concealing a firearm. “It isn’t a right; it’s a privilege,” she said about the handgun permits.
It makes sense to go through the quick process of applying for a permit than having to be concerned if you are carrying or transporting a handgun and its ammunition in a legal manner.
How to get a permit
The process is relatively easy if you haven’t committed a major crime and are at least 21 years of age. There’s a one-page application to fill out at your local county sheriff’s office, or if you are in a city of the first class like Philadelphia you work through the chief of police. It’s similar to the process that used to do a background check to purchase a gun, but you do need to add the names and contact information for two references who aren’t your relatives.
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Once your application is approved, the office will take your photo and have it affixed to your permit.
The staff advises people to give their office 10 days to have the permit processed through the state, but sometimes a permit can take a month to be approved. The time varies but is always within the 45 days noted on the application. In more populated counties, where there is a larger of county employees, the permit could be done the same day if the state’s background check process clears.
A key takeaway is that crime sticks with your record. Weir said some people have been denied for incidents that happened 30 years ago. If you are convicted of one of the close to 40 crimes listed on the back of the application, you will probably be denied your permit. The violations range from corruption of minors to burglary, arson, murder and a variety of crimes with a gun.
The permit covers the commonwealth and some states that have reciprocal agreements including bordering states Ohio and West Virginia. However, the Pennsylvania permit isn’t valid in Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. If you plan to take your handgun to these neighboring states, you’ll want to check into their regulations.
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If an application is denied, the person can file a challenge and they’ve seen some denials be reversed on appeal.
The bottom line is if you have a pistol or are thinking about getting one, it’s good for your peace of mind to get a license to carry permit to make sure you are protected while carrying your firearm.
Brian Whipkey is the outdoor columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on your website's homepage under your login name. Follow him on social media @whipkeyoutdoors.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: PA gun permit: When you need one and how to apply
