State sets sights on handgun licenses...

**Toorop** · January 22nd, 2010, 07:15 PM

State sets sights on handgun licenses
By P.J. Reilly
Lancaster Intelligencer Journal
Updated: 01/20/2010 08:20:28 AM EST

The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency is spearheading an initiative to standardize the process used by the state's 66 county sheriff's offices and the Philadelphia Police Department for issuing licenses to carry concealed weapons.

"The goal of the license-to-carry program is to provide a statewide system to provide a standardized method of completing the application, submitting the information to Pennsylvania State Police, obtaining confirmation of a successful transaction with (state police) and issuing the identification card for those individuals seeking a license to carry a firearm," Michael J. Kane, executive director of the commission, wrote in a Dec. 21 letter to county commissioners across the state.

Lancaster County Chief Deputy Sheriff Mark Reese said the new system would save the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office time and money.

"This is something that's long overdue," Reese said.

Lancaster County commissioners Wednesday are expected to vote to approve an application to the Commission on Crime and Delinquency requesting a $15,000 grant to pay for the hardware, software and training needed to implement the new system here.

The commission has a pool of $1 million to distribute to counties under the grant program.

In Pennsylvania, anyone 21 or older who is not specifically prohibited from carrying a firearm can be issued a license to carry one.

Lancaster County has about 22,000 residents licensed to carry firearms, according
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to Reese.

State law allows a sheriff "to deny an individual the right to a license to carry firearms if there is reason to believe that the character and reputation of the individual are such that they would be likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety," according to the state police Web site.

Sheriffs and Philadelphia police have 45 days from the date an application is filed to either issue a license or reject the request.

The license costs $25 and is good for five years.

According to Reese, the licenses issued by the state's counties don't all look the same. Some counties issue the licenses anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks after an application is filed, while others, including Lancaster County, issue them the same day.

Once the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office issues a license, Reese said, the application is printed and mailed to the state police headquarters in Harrisburg, where the envelope is opened and someone manually enters the information into the state's database.

Lt. Troy Lokhaiser, director of the state police firearms division, said his office receives license-to-carry applications every day the headquarters is open.

"We are hoping this new system will greatly reduce the amount of time our people spend on data entry," he said.

At times, Reese said, state police have had a three-month backlog of licenses to enter into the statewide computer system.

And that can create problems for the license holders.

"If we issue a license and the police stop the guy before his license is entered into the state system, then the police might look to see if this guy's license is valid and find nothing," he said. "That's not good."

Under the new, standardized system, an applicant's driver's license will be swiped in a card reader at a county sheriff's office or Philadelphia police station to fill the data fields on the application.

Once the application is approved, the information automatically will be entered into the state's database.

"It will be a live system," Reese said.

Sheriffs and Philadelphia police still will have 45 days to issue licenses, but Tara Mead, spokeswoman for the Commission on Crime and Delinquency, said the intent is to reduce any delays caused by a lack of manpower and/or antiquated licensing systems used by some counties.

All licenses to carry issued in the state will look similar, if not identical, to one another, according to Reese.

Link to Article.

What do you all think?