Erie County Gun Permits - Sheriff Bob Merski

[ar15jules]

Recently completed short barrel rifle paperwork.Erie County Sheriff's Office was very easy to work with on this. Very good department.

I can't wait to shoot it.
Jules

[CKPjr]

met my son at court house today, went to get his LTCF, in and out in 5 minutes. young lady said would be in mail within 2 weeks. then had to take him to lunch.
chuck

[twoguns]

Can someone answer some questions for me about concealed carry or issuing a license to carry as it is referred to in this state? Here is a little background:

I have had some problems with the Monroe Co. Sheriffs Dept. My first attempt was last year before I moved here from Washington State.....I was a holder of a Washington State CCP (concealed carry pistol) permit. It is recognized in about 13 other states but not PA. Prior to moving here, I sent a letter to Sheriff Martin asking if he would send the paperwork in order to expedite the application process. I had hoped to have a permit upon arrival in this state. Unfortunately, I received no reply.

So when I arrived here I went to apply in person and was told I needed to wait until I had been in residence for at least 90 days. I was not happy about that but I did wait for 90 days and then made another attempt but was met with a rather difficult deputy at the front desk who gave me the form to apply for license to carry. I do not suffer bureaucrats well.
I began to fill it out and noticed that there was a requirement to provide a PA. income tax info. I stated that I had only been here for 90 days and did not have a job yet. I also asked what the state income tax had to do with lawful carry of a firearm and he said I needed to contact the local tax authority in my township. This was to prove I was in residence. Huh? I have a drivers license and that state agency accepted my WA. State drivers license and my passport as a valid form of identification along with 2 articles of mail sent to my current address....but the sheriff needs more than that?

I have talked to folks in other counties and learn that they can be in and out with permit issued in just a few minutes. Why is it different here in Monroe Co.? Is there no uniformity from one county to the next?

I am a certified NRA Range Safety Officer, a certified NRA Instructor. I have over 100 hours of certified defensive pistol training and have been a shooting enthusiast for all of my life. I have worked at indoor pistol ranges and was the President of a gun club in the State of Washington. I am not boasting but I think my resume speaks well as to the level of experience and training I have undergone.

Why is this so difficult to get a license to carry in Monroe Co.?
I am still unemployed after 7 months being in residence and do not feel I should have to sign up for a tax on income if I do not even have a job!

Can someone explain to me how to get this license to carry? I have checked the State of Pennsylvania website for the form to apply and there is no requirement to provide any tax information. How can the county sheriff mandate something in addition to the state requirement? Can county law supersede state law?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

[imp81318]

It doesn't surprise me that you didn't receive a reply from the sherrif because as you have learned, you must be a resident of PA for 90 days before you can get a resident LTCF in this state, and PA does not issue non-resident licenses.

I have talked to folks in other counties and learn that they can be in and out with permit issued in just a few minutes. Why is it different here in Monroe Co.? Is there no uniformity from one county to the next?

As for the portion of your post quoted above, I'm not familiar with the procedures in Monroe county, but I can assure you that the application process, waiting period, and even the form of the license varies greatly from state to state.

You will probably get a better response to your questions if you create a new post in the Monroe County board, located at http://forum.pafoa.org/monroe-49/

Also, if you are having issues with your local sherriff, another option would be to obtain a non-resident license from a state that PA has reciprocity with. The 2 common ones for this approach are Utah and Florida, I believe.

[jahwarrior72]

Can someone answer some questions for me about concealed carry or issuing a license to carry as it is referred to in this state? Here is a little background:

I have had some problems with the Monroe Co. Sheriffs Dept. My first attempt was last year before I moved here from Washington State.....I was a holder of a Washington State CCP (concealed carry pistol) permit. It is recognized in about 13 other states but not PA. Prior to moving here, I sent a letter to Sheriff Martin asking if he would send the paperwork in order to expedite the application process. I had hoped to have a permit upon arrival in this state. Unfortunately, I received no reply.

So when I arrived here I went to apply in person and was told I needed to wait until I had been in residence for at least 90 days. I was not happy about that but I did wait for 90 days and then made another attempt but was met with a rather difficult deputy at the front desk who gave me the form to apply for license to carry. I do not suffer bureaucrats well.
I began to fill it out and noticed that there was a requirement to provide a PA. income tax info. I stated that I had only been here for 90 days and did not have a job yet. I also asked what the state income tax had to do with lawful carry of a firearm and he said I needed to contact the local tax authority in my township. This was to prove I was in residence. Huh? I have a drivers license and that state agency accepted my WA. State drivers license and my passport as a valid form of identification along with 2 articles of mail sent to my current address....but the sheriff needs more than that?

I have talked to folks in other counties and learn that they can be in and out with permit issued in just a few minutes. Why is it different here in Monroe Co.? Is there no uniformity from one county to the next?

I am a certified NRA Range Safety Officer, a certified NRA Instructor. I have over 100 hours of certified defensive pistol training and have been a shooting enthusiast for all of my life. I have worked at indoor pistol ranges and was the President of a gun club in the State of Washington. I am not boasting but I think my resume speaks well as to the level of experience and training I have undergone.

Why is this so difficult to get a license to carry in Monroe Co.?
I am still unemployed after 7 months being in residence and do not feel I should have to sign up for a tax on income if I do not even have a job!

Can someone explain to me how to get this license to carry? I have checked the State of Pennsylvania website for the form to apply and there is no requirement to provide any tax information. How can the county sheriff mandate something in addition to the state requirement? Can county law supersede state law?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

i've heard about this bullshit from other guys from Monroe County. from what i've gathered, it's a way to prevent New Yorkers/New Jerseyians from renting a temporary place, and getting a license, so they can buy guns here and sell them illegally in their home state. it's a bunch of crap.

[twoguns]

thanks to both imp81318 and to jahwarrior72 for your suggestions.

jah, it is my understanding that the out of state permit would not be a lawful way of exercising concealed carry in PA because it is for non-residents of other states. In other words, it would be fine for carry in those other states but not in my state of residence.

Having said that, I am in the process of getting the FLA license to carry as I do some traveling i other states.

Thanks again

[DaveM55]

I see this Sheriff has a Police Services Division which provides Patrol Services. Seems his Police operation is based out of NY instead of Pa.

http://www.erie.gov/sheriff/police_serv_division.asp

[Michele]

It doesn't surprise me that you didn't receive a reply from the sherrif because as you have learned, you must be a resident of PA for 90 days before you can get a resident LTCF in this state, and PA does not issue non-resident licenses.

I don't know how it works in other counties but that definitely was NOT my case with the 90 day thing here in Erie. I was a resident of PA only a couple of weeks, switched my DL to PA and the very next day applied for my LTCF. All I was required to show when I applied for my LTCF was my DL and nothing more. I also DID NOT have a carry permit from any other state.

http://www.eriecountysheriffs.org/
http://www.eriecountysheriffs.org/Divisions4.htm

[imp81318]

Michele, I was basing the 90 day residency off of what he (twoguns) said he was told by the sherriff in his post. I'm not that familiar with the laws in either county (Erie or Monroe).

Twoguns, regarding your question of the applicability of another state's non-resident license to carry in PA, I'd take a look at http://www.usconcealedcarry.com/public/392.cfm. There, it lists the state that share reciprocity with PA, and marks the states that you must be a resident of for the permit to be good in PA. The list of states whose license to carry PA recognizes is:
ALASKA*
ARKANSAS
ARIZONA
**COLORADO
**FLORIDA
GEORGIA
IDAHO
INDIANA
KENTUCKY
LOUISIANA
**MICHIGAN
MISSOURI
MONTANA
NORTH CAROLINA
**NEW HAMPSHIRE
OKLAHOMA
SOUTH DAKOTA
TENNESSEE
TEXAS
UTAH
VERMONT*
VIRGINIA
**WEST VIRGINIA
WYOMING

According to the site listed above, the states marked with ** are states that you must be a resident of in order to have PA recognize their license. As far as I can tell, this would indicate that a non-resident permit from Utah would also be recognized and appropriate to allow you to CC in PA.

[Michele]

Michele, I was basing the 90 day residency off of what he (twoguns) said he was told by the sherriff in his post. I'm not that familiar with the laws in either county (Erie or Monroe).

I'm cool. It just boggles my mind how the LTCF requirements differ from county to county. Its almost like some sheriffs make up their own rules to fit their personal agendas.

Some counties require same county references. On my app, I used references from NYC without issue. They were never contacted. I had my laminated LTCF mailed to me in a plain white envelope in about 7 or 8 days.

Erie county LTCF process is definitely a winner!