Luzerne County Sheriff: Sorry for inconvenience

Because of county personnel cuts, the Luzerne County Sheriff’s Department will not accept gun permit applications for two weeks.

Sheriff Michael Savokinas sent out a press release Friday saying he needs to revamp the department since county officials announced staff cuts to help balance the budget.

“We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience during this time of transition,” Savokinas said. His directive is in effect until Jan. 19.

A deputy and a civilian, both part-timers, oversaw the gun permit division in the department, accepting applications every week day until they were laid off. They were among 20 part-time employees and three full-time clerks in the sheriff’s office who lost their jobs during county layoffs that took effect Thursday.

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Grant or denial of license.-Upon the receipt of an application for a license to carry a firearm, the sheriff shall, within 45 days, issue or refuse to issue a license on the basis of the in­vestigation under subsection (d) and the accuracy of the information contained in the applica­tion. If the sheriff refuses to issue a license, the sheriff shall notify the applicant in writing of the refusal and the specific reasons. The notice shall be sent by certified mail to the applicant at the address set forth in the application.

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IIRC this delay is not the first in PA. Didn't they have a COmputer change out that required a no NICS sale period?

Rights delayed are rights denied. Seems like they are getting pretty comfortable denying firearms rights in PA.

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Thundar wrote:

IIRC this delay is not the first in PA. Didn't they have a COmputer change out that required a no NICS sale period?

Rights delayed are rights denied. Seems like they are getting pretty comfortable denying firearms rights in PA.

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You are correct that this is not the first such thing. Seems there is an ongoing effort to stretch the envelope and see what will be tolerated.The PICS shutdown did not last long enough to see its day in court, though. Would be interesting if someone filed suitin the present case since the Luzerne county court itself has refused to comply with budget cuts.

Anyhow, I agree that everyone should just carry openly for the duration of this crisis.

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The only problem with this is......if you need to drive anywhere, you need a LTCF. Open Carry is ok as long as you don't need to get where you are going by car.

This is where Pa. law sucks, in that you need the license to get around.

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§6119. Violation Penalty.

Except as otherwise specifically provided, an offense under this subchapter constitutes a misdemeanor of the first degree.

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I am wondering how the sheriff intends to comply with PAUFA Section 6109(g) during this period?

Grant or denial of license.-Upon the receipt of an application for a license to carry a firearm, the sheriff shall, within 45 days, issue or refuse to issue a license on the basis of the in­vestigation under subsection (d) and the accuracy of the information contained in the applica­tion. If the sheriff refuses to issue a license, the sheriff shall notify the applicant in writing of the refusal and the specific reasons. The notice shall be sent by certified mail to the applicant at the address set forth in the application.

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Will the sheriff deny the application to exercise a right that "shall not be questioned" per the state constitution because he does not have enough staff to provide the appropriate answers?

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