In Henry County, the closing and reduction in service of government offices will not affect a person’s constitutional right to bear arms or the legal responsibilities associated with it.
The county’s Probate Court is not currently accepting applications for new weapons carry permits or for renewals, Probate Judge Kelley Powell told the Times recently. This is because of the new setup at the court relating to how the COVID-19 situation has caused overall operations to be scaled back considerably. But if your concealed carry permit expires during this unusual time, it will still be in effect.
Typically a permit holder is allowed a 90-day window just before expiration or a 30-day period immediately following expiration to renew without penalty. But all such time limits are now frozen by virtue of a statewide emergency order that went into effect recently as various agencies tried to find the best way to serve citizens amid the current pandemic.
Processing a gun permit application requires fingerprinting and photographing the applicant, both of which require close physical contact with staff at Probate Court. That cannot be done with the current setup at the building.
A notice on the Probate Court website points out that some fraudulent advertisements claim to offer discounted gun permits which can be applied and paid for online. In reality, a weapons carry license can only be issued after the applicant appears in person at Probate Court, according to the notice.
“To renew, you still have come and sign the application again just to confirm that since last time you have not been convicted or a felony or have a temporary protective order against you,” said Powell. “You have to affirmatively answer the questions and sign it. We take a new picture and run a background check that is name-based. We don’t take your fingerprints again.”
But none of this means the coronavirus has made it impossible for people to defend themselves.
“Your permit is not going to expire. You’re not going to get in trouble,” said Powell. “You do not have to have a concealed carry permit to go purchase a weapon, and you can still have a gun in your home or vehicle or place of business.”
The Probate Court has been in regular contact with law enforcement officials as well as Georgia Carry, the statewide gun rights organization. Some of the language on the court’s website relating to these issues is actually taken directly from the Georgia Carry website, Powell said.
She and her staff are already thinking about the inevitable backlog that will occur once operations are back to normal, whenever that is. Powell said permit holders will probably still need an extra 30 days or so because there is no way her staff will be able to process everyone in time.
“We will have to do it by appointment because, otherwise, people will have to wait a long time,” she said. “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure we have plenty of spots, but everybody is going to have to be patient.”
