Wake Sheriff’s Office working ‘as fast as we can’ as gun-permit applications soar

From May 3 to Aug. 15, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office received almost five times more pistol purchase permit applications than during the same period last year.

“We are working diligently and as fast as we can to get those permits out to every individual who qualifies,” Lt. Scott Sefton said at a news conference Friday.

In North Carolina, pistol purchase permits or concealed carry permits are required to buy handguns. You can apply for a permit at your local sheriff’s office.

In March, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office temporarily stopped accepting new permit applications because of an unprecedented number of applications. After gun-rights groups sued, the Sheriff’s Office had to resume processing permits in “as timely a fashion as possible under the current conditions,” a court order stated.

Now, the Sheriff’s Office has extra staff and is working extra hours to get the permits out, Sefton said.

Three people who usually work as school resource officers and staff from other divisions, including the patrol division, are assisting, Sefton said.

The Sheriff’s Office has issued 25,180 pistol permits so far in 2020, Sefton said.

At the same point last year, 9,632 had been issued. At the same point in 2018, 9,750 had been issued.

Sefton attributes the increased demand to the coronavirus pandemic and “civil unrest” during protests in Raleigh following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes.

Data from the Wake County Sheriff’s Office shows pistol purchase permits spiked when the protests began in Raleigh March 31.

The numbers were significantly higher from May 3 to Aug. 15, compared to the same period during the previous two years: 14,595 applications, compared to 3,067 in 2019 and 2,748 in 2018.

During the week ending June 6, there were 2,212 applications. That was more than 10 times the number of applications during the same week last year (208).

Other North Carolina counties have also seen increased demand for gun permits.

Durham County had a 445% increase in pistol permit applications in June 2020 compared to June 2019. Orange County received 395 permit applications this June compared to 86 last June, The N&O reported.

Pistol purchase permits

In Wake County, people can apply for a pistol permit on the Sheriff’s Office website. The application then goes to staff for approval.

The law in North Carolina requires sheriff’s offices to inform pistol permit applicants whether they have been approved within 14 days..

During those 14 days, sheriff’s offices perform background checks on applicants to ensure they meet all the requirements for pistol purchase permits.

Then, applicants will get an appointment to come in to sign a mental health waiver, Sefton said. Once they sign that form and show proper ID, they will get a permit.