North Carolina, all assets deployed.
Wake Co. Sheriff Says Staff Member in Gun Permit Office Tested Positive for COVID, Permit Delays Expected
Raleigh, N.C. — Wake County Sheriff Gerald Baker said that one member of his staff in the gun permit office tested positive for COVID-19.
All nine staff members who work in this department were exposed to the coronavirus as a result.
"As long as the pandemic is happening, it is going to continue to affect this office," he said.
On Monday, Baker said that the office will have a "modified crew" to meet the influx of appointments that are scheduled for Monday.
There are about 171 people scheduled to pick up their pistol purchases and concealed carry licenses on Monday. On Tuesday, there are around 245 people who have scheduled appointments in the gun permit office.
The county issued 22,201 more permits this year from January to Sept. 13.
"These numbers are not normal," Baker said.
He is asking for patience in processing these requests during the pandemic.
A grassroots gun-rights group filed another lawsuit against his office in August, over the time it takes for residents to obtain hand gun permits.
Grass Roots North Carolina said last month that their office has been "flooded with complaints" from people who are trying to buy guns but are unable to do so because of limitations set in place by Wake County Sheriff Gerald Baker.
"You can sue me all day," Baker said, "but those numbers tell you that it is going to be almost impossible to service that number of applications with the processes in place and the background checks that are required in a 14-day period."
According to GRNC, "Baker refuses to process pistol purchase permits within the 14 days required by law, effectively denying citizens their right to keep and bear arms." GRNC asserts that more people are buying guns after rioting and protests across the country.
Riots in North Carolina back in May led to a spike in gun permits in June, according to officials and gun shop owners.
From the first day of January to Sept. 13, a total of 24,119 purchase permit applications were received. Last year during that time frame, only 2,785 applications were received.
In reference to trying to limit the number of people coming into the office, Baker said that, "we did, I believe, not violate anyone's constitutional rights."
"It was just a step of us trying to protect our staff so we could continue to serve our county," he said.
https://www.wral.com/wake-co-sheriff-says-staff-member-in-gun-permit-office-tested-positive-for-covid-permit-delays-expected/19283983/