Lehigh County Sheriff web page - misleading info...???

[sjohn26]

I am advising a friend to obtain her LTCF so I looked up info for the Lehigh County Sheriffs office for a form-----came across a few tidbits:

On the lead page:
http://www.lehighcounty.org/Sheriff/...ct_sheriff.htm

"In addition, the Sheriff's Office issues permits to carry a concealed weapon within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These permits are issued only after an appropriate background investigation is completed. "

Digging deeper to find info reveals the following:
http://www.lehighcounty.org/Fiscal/f...l_licenses.htm

"Pistol Permits

Application for pistol permits must be made in person in Room 119 of the Government Center. Pistol permits may only be used for hunting and fishing purposes. An applicant must show proof of identification such as a valid Pennsylvania driver's license along with a current hunting or fishing license. The cost of a pistol permit is $6.00 and is valid for 5 years."

Granted - this applies to pistol permits when USED FOR HUNTING - but I find it misleading that no mention or info is given towards concealed LTCF applications.

Is Lehigh on the issue-while-you-wait system (similar to Berks and elsewhere)?

[HiredGoon]

Looks like maybe they are confusing LTCF with Sportsman's Permits and getting it all screwed up??

[Robert Kayland]

It's two different sort of permits... the LTCF is the one you go to the office, fill out the application (don't forget two references phone and address!), get your picture taken, and pay the $38. Then you go home and wait.

Then they do what they do (usually just a PICS check) and send you the credit card style LTCF in about two to three weeks.

That hunting stuff is something else, and should be ignored.

Funny that they don't get a specific listing for the LTCF like they do for the "pistol permit" in the hunting section. They really should have a distinct LTCF section so they don't confuse people with the "pistol permit" stuff in the general license section.

Probably just bad design and/or instruction to their web developer... or, if I were conspiracy-inclined, I might say they were purposely being obtuse about information for LTCF because they don't want to encourage it... but there are so darn many in the Lehigh Valley that I defer to Ockham's Razor and attribute it to mere bureaucratic oversight.

[Zef_66]

Why not call them, or send an email. When I was looking up information in Snyder County about LTCFs on the sheriff's website, I found some errant information. I simply sent an email to the sheriff:

Sheriff,

I was reading on your website the section regarding Pennsylvania License to Carry Firearms and more specifically the Frequently Asked Questions. In this question and answer section, one question stood out to me: "Where can I not carry my firearm at all?" Your response listed several places including banks and airports. I have read over the sections of Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statues and Title 18 of the United States Code concerning possession of firearms. I did not see any regulation on carrying in either of these facilities. I did find that you are not allowded to carry a firearm past the security check points at airports, but nothing regulating carry of firearms in the main public lobbies.

Can you point me in the right direction as to the exact laws concerning the legality of carrying firearms in banks and airports?

Thank you,

And his response:

Dear Zef:

Thank you for bringing that to my attention. The website has been changed and the reference to banks has been removed. That wording was placed there by the author of the website. It has been common practice of my office for many years, that when asked by an applicant or license holder the question about where they can and cannot carry, the reply has included the suggestion to use common sense when carrying and banks and barrooms are mentioned that they may not be the best places to walk into while armed. Evidently when setting up the website that suggestion was included but not in the form of a suggestion in reference to common sense.

I must point out also that any information on our website is there for information only and does not constitute an interpretation of any laws or statutes. We try to provide information for the public that is plain and simple to understand by everyone.

Thank you again for bringing that to my attention.

Have a great day

Sheriff Reigle

So talk to the them. Maybe they don't realize their errors.