Virginia Sheriff Ends Fee Collection for Concealed Carry Permits

Wythe County, Virginia, Sheriff Anthony R. Cline sent a letter to the circuit court clerk Monday in which he announced he will no longer collect a $35 fee for concealed carry permit applications.

Sheriff Cline began: “I am writing to formally notify you that effective immediately, the Wythe County Sheriff’s Office will no longer collect the Sheriff’s fee associated with Concealed Handgun Permit applications.”

He stressed, “As Sheriff, I do not believe citizens should be charged to exercise their constitutional rights. My duty is to protect those rights, not to profit from them.”

Sheriff Cline continued, “Removing this fee reflects my commitment to supporting law-abiding gun owners and upholding the principles of the Second Amendment.”

The Virginia State Police website providing information on concealed carry permit issuance states:

The court shall charge a fee of $10.00 for the processing of an application or issuing of a permit. Local law enforcement agencies may charge a fee not to exceed $35.00 to cover the cost of conducting an investigation pursuant to this Code section. The State Police may charge a fee not to exceed $5.00 to cover the cost associated with processing the application. The total amount of the charges may not exceed $50.00, and payment may be made by any method accepted by the court.

Sheriff’s Cline refusal to collect fees will drop a concealed carry applicant’s costs from $50 to $15.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on X: @awrhawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.