It's also interesting that so many clerks are making the claim that lists do not exist when until as late as 18 or so months ago, I know for a fact that one local newspaper was still publishing just that, a "list" of all the recently granted CHPs for our area. And I know for a fact that for many years, as recently as about 3 or 4 years ago, the largest local newspaper published these same monthly lists from several jurisdictions in the area of all the new CHP holders. It was these lists that finally (along with the New York scandal) pushed this bill through the General Assembly.)
At that point, the clerks or someone in their office WAS definitely providing these lists to the newspaper. They would send someone on a monthly road trip to each clerk's office to get the latest list.
Since that practice was discontinued, I know that the clerk in Fredericksburg has changed, and is now much more gun-friendly than the former clerk was, and in fact a discussion with one of his deputies a few weeks revealed that this office had the same line of thinking, that there WAS no list to provide.
I almost wonder if the clerks received some sort of guidance on this from higher up... It seems a little suspicious that so many would think of the same excuse independently, especially after so many years of providing those lists with no questions asked.
TFred