Gun-rights groups sue Wake sheriff for halting gun permit applications amid coronavirus
Gun rights organizations and a Wake County resident sued Sheriff Gerald Baker on Friday for temporarily suspending gun permitting during the coronavirus pandemic.
Attorneys for Wake resident Kelly Stafford, state gun rights group Grass Roots North Carolina, and national organizations Second Amendment Foundation and Firearms Policy Coalition filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
The lawsuit follows Baker announcing this week that the Wake County Sheriff’s Office was suspending pistol purchase permit applications until April 30 as demand for guns surges amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
The lawsuit asks a judge to compel the Sheriff’s Office to resume accepting the applications.
“Although Sheriff Gerald Baker claims his refusal to accept applications for pistol purchase permits and concealed handgun permits doesn’t infringe on individual rights, nothing could be further from the truth,” said Paul Valone, president of Grass Roots North Carolina, in a statement.
“During this emergency, as always, GRNC intends to ensure that lawful North Carolinians have the means to protect themselves and their families,” the statement continued.
Eric Curry, Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
In his announcement Tuesday, Baker said his staff and the Wake County Clerk of Courts need time to manage a backlog of pistol purchase permit applications, which were up nearly 500% over the same time in 2018. The permitting process requires a background check.
“This decision does not limit anyone’s right to purchase a handgun,” Baker said in a news release.
The lawsuit states that Baker is required by law to issue permits within 14 days, as long as the person is eligible. It argues that Baker is depriving Wake County residents of their Second Amendment rights to bear arms.
But Baker says with 755 applications pending, the Clerk of Courts office doesn’t have enough staff to do background checks within 14 days. State law requires him to issue a permit to buy a gun “but sets no timeframe for when applications must be taken by the Sheriff’s Office,” he said in his announcement.
Two Republican state lawmakers have also urged Baker to change his mind.
“People are already suspicious and on edge,” Sens. Warren Daniel of Burke County and Danny Britt of Robeson County wrote in a statement Tuesday. “It’s reckless to illegally suspend their Second Amendment rights just when they need assurance that they can trust government.”
This story was originally published March 27, 2020 at 7:58 PM.
