Concealed Carry License

I haven't really talked about guns very much.  This is mainly because when people think of "preppers", they think of gun toting whack jobs.   There are many prepper's who collect guns as a hobby, but there are many who claim that all they need for the end of the world is a bunch of guns and ammunition to take necessary supplies from others.  The fact of the matter is that guns are a necessary tool for security.   There are many opinions regarding guns and gun ownership, but in this particularly blog, I'd like to focus on licensing.  This is written based on the laws of the State of Washington at the date this is written.



This subject comes up now because I just re-applied for my Washington State Concealed Pistol License (CPL).  I say re-applied instead of renewed because I allowed my license to expire greater than 90 days by accident.  I don't carry concealed very often, even less so now that I have a toddler.  Because of this, I didn't even realize that my license had even expired.  I stumbled across it by accident.  I actually was checking to see if my Utah Non-Resident Concealed Firearm Permit had expired.  It does not until this November.  When I was placing the Utah Permit back in my wallet, I thought "well I'd better just check and see how soon my WA license expires."  Much to my chagrin, it had expired last Dec.  Ugh!


The first thing I did was research what is required to get a new license.  In WA, you are required to apply for a new license if your old one is expired greater than 90 days.  All that is required is money (government always gets their cut) and the applicant to submit to fingerprinting for a background check.  Nothing else is required.  This is a bit counter-intuitive to me, because I would expect a state as liberal as Washington to have very strict gun laws.  That does not seem to be the case.  See this website for more information:  http://www.dol.wa.gov/business/firearms/faconceal.html.



Also, in the course of research, I found that my wife, who is a Canadian citizen with US residency can have a CPL.  I decided to encourage her to apply for a CPL as well.  Her first question to me when I suggested that she do so was "Why"?  She said she does not have access to firearms (my guns are locked up), nor training to use them, therefore she should not have a CPL.  I pointed out to her that obtaining the CPL wasn't about either of those 2 things.  In my mind, there are 2 reasons for her to have the license.

The first and primary reason is that it protects her if I ever inadvertently leave her illegally in possession of a firearm.  An example of this would be me carrying concealed while we are out running errands.  If I need to enter a building that does not allow guns (a bank for example), I would have to leave the gun in the car.  More than likely, I'd just put it out of sight in the center console.  That would be perfectly legal in this State if I locked the car when I walked away and no one was in the car.  However, if Barb is in the car, she would suddenly be in possession of a concealed pistol when I walk away.  Her having the license would completely remove that issue.



The second is that it makes it much easier (more convenient really) for Barb to purchase a pistol should she desire to in the future.  In this state, a person purchasing a pistol (not true for shotgun or rifle) without a CPL is required to wait for a background investigation and approval by the local law enforcement agency (LEA), which results in around a 5 day delay.  Inconvenient, but not really a big deal (hence reason 2 instead of reason 1).

The reason I have a Utah Non-Resident Concealed Firearm Permit is because it is most widely recognized by other states in terms of reciprocity.  I drove around the US quite a bit, and I wanted to be able to carry concealed while on the road. For more information, see this website:  http://publicsafety.utah.gov/bci/concealedfirearms.html.


I first applied for my CPL shortly after 9/11, but I did not actually purchase my first firearm until 2004.  At the time, I wasn't sure I wanted the responsibility of possibly killing while owning a firearm.  This is a very real issue that everyone must resolve for themselves prior to purchasing a firearm.  The purpose of a firearm is to kill, therefore owning a firearm is accepting the responsibility of possibly killing.

Nothing I've said here precludes getting proper firearm training and following good firearm practices.  I highly recommend getting formal firearm training prior to purchase or use of a firearm.  I have received training both in the military and through the NRA.  I personally feel that when it comes to firearms, no one can have too much training, education, and practical experience.