Virginia Non Resident Permit

[Drummer Boy]

I don't know how many fellow North Carolinians are on this forum, but, I was wondering if any NC residents have the Virginia non res permit ONLY.

Here's our experience. (my wife & I): When I first researched the Virginia NR permit, I thought " that has my wife's name all over it". She works a very labor intensive job, and when the weekend rolls around, she's pretty well spent. So, the required 8 hr class for the NC permit didn't appeal to her. Plus, she wasn't crazy about firing 40 rounds in front of a group of strangers. The Virginia NR permit requires neither. She watched the on-line 1hr safety video, took the required test, and passed. I then e-mailed the Virginia State Police and requested the application packet. They sent the application packet, along with instructions & fingerprint card. She filled out the app and had it notarized, and I took a couple of pics of her, according to the VSP specs. I had everything together, except for the fingerprints which needed to be performed by a LE agency.

I had previously called the sheriff's dept a week earlier, and the deputy said to come in anytime of week, between 8:00 & 4:30pm. We showed up the following Monday, and was met by a female deputy. First problem: She said " we only do fingerprints on Tue & Thu"! I told her the deputy I spoke with on the phone said anytime of the week! She shook her head no. Second problem: When she found out that it was for the Virginia NR permit, she said " that permit is a waste of money. It's only good for traveling through Virginia". When I explained that I had researched it thoroughly, and one of her fellow deputies told me a week earlier that the Virginia NR was recognized in NC, she continued to shake her head no! She turned to my wife and said "you live in NC, you need to get a NC permit", and " Honey, you need to take the class & learn how to shoot that gun"!

I left the department very frustrated! My wife was like "oh well, we tried". I came home & immediately went on-line, and discovered several NC residents that had a Virginia NR permit only, and had been involved in traffic stops with no issues with the LEO. I e-mailed my CCH instructor, who happens to be a Chatham County deputy (one county over from us), and told him everything. He immediately sent me this link: Concealed Handguns Reciprocity It clearly states that as of Dec 1, 2011, NC recognizes any CC permit issued by any other state!

We decided to go to another LE agency to do the fingerprints, because my wife wanted to avoid another confrontation with the deputy. I got everything together, and I sent the packet back to the Virginia State Police. According to what I've read, it could take up to three months to receive the permit, so I'm thinking around late Oct.

Bottom line: My wife has some handgun experience. She's no marksman, but neither am I. The deputy treated her like she'd never saw a handgun, much less touched one! She also gave us false information based on personal opinion, and not NC law. She also informed us that she got her CCH permit 8yrs ago, which was long before the Dec 1, 2011 law went into effect.

Lessons learned: Do your homework! Don't assume everything a LEO tells you is correct! I still have the utmost respect for LEOs, and what they do for a living. I even told the deputy that on the way out, and thanked her for her service. That hasn't changed.

For those interested, here's the class she took: Concealed Handgun Permit Firearms Safety Class - Virginia Concealed Handgun Permit There's others, but, this one was more affordable & the one we chose. And here's the link to the Virginia State Police, with the info you need: Virginia State Police - Nonresident Concealed Handgun Permits

Stay safe

 

[trooper2899]

Many rural county Sheriffs Depts are staffed via back door politics (Sheriff is an elected Position) and often the sheriff is pressured by politicians to hire their dubious relatives, etc. There is a recent court decision in NY state that sez a person can hold multiple firearms permits, IE one for summer residence and one in winter residence - its not mandatory U be a full time resident of a state to apply and be issued a pistol permit.

 

[Drummer Boy]

I've often joked to friends, that we live in Mayberry NC! This incident makes me realize how close to the truth that statement really is!

 

[OKFC05]

Several states are not interested in teaching you how to shoot. Their state courses are all about laws and safety, and they expect you to learn to shoot elsewhere.
Having taught CHL classes in several states, I favor these states, like FL, VA, UT, AZ,.......There is insufficient time in a state course to do a good job of teaching a beginner to shoot, and those proficient at shooting are going to be bored to tears.

I still have "experts" try to tell me OK residents can only have an OK license, and OK has had universal recognition for over a decade.. oh, well..

 

[AimHigher]

There may be a reason that she works in the office and not out on the street. I've worked with officers that didn't know some of the most basic elements of criminal law. Like any other profession, some employees are more engaged in the work than others. LE agencies don't always ensure that their employees are updated on various changes in the laws. It's really hit or miss.

 

[Drummer Boy]

Several states are not interested in teaching you how to shoot. Their state courses are all about laws and safety, and they expect you to learn to shoot elsewhere.
Having taught CHL classes in several states, I favor these states, like FL, VA, UT, AZ,.......There is insufficient time in a state course to do a good job of teaching a beginner to shoot, and those proficient at shooting are going to be bored to tears.

I still have "experts" try to tell me OK residents can only have an OK license, and OK has had universal recognition for over a decade.. oh, well..

I agree. In my NC class our instructor only showed the very basic skills needed to shoot a handgun. So basic that if you didn't know them already, you probably shouldn't be holding a handgun, IMO. On the range, however, there were at least three that I suspect had very little experience handling a gun. One, in particular, kept having malfunctions, and we would have to stop firing so the instructor could help her clear the firearm. This happened several times, and I think she may have been "limp wristing" the pistol. Another one was leaning so far back that I'm surprised she didn't fall over backwards from the recoil! Oh well, I'm no expert, by any measure, but it did make me feel a little uncomfortable.

 

[Drummer Boy]

There may be a reason that she works in the office and not out on the street. I've worked with officers that didn't know some of the most basic elements of criminal law. Like any other profession, some employees are more engaged in the work than others. LE agencies don't always ensure that their employees are updated on various changes in the laws. It's really hit or miss.

What really bothered me was that she was so opinionated & sure of herself! She actually had my wife convinced that she knew what she was talking about.......but, not me! My momma always told me I was from Missouri!

 

[Ogandydancer]

When I took my class in Guilford County the instructors on gave information on the laws pertaining to CC and safety, nothing at all on how to shoot, so when it came to the range part you pretty much had to already know how to handle and fire the weapon.