THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 11, 1995 TAG: 9507110283
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
Although a new, more lenient gun permit law gives judges the discretion to require firearms training, five Hampton Roads cities - Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk and Newport News - are making the training mandatory.
Norfolk Circuit Judge Lydia C. Taylor said the decision to require training in that city was made primarily because of safety.
``Most judges I know think that there ought to be training before issuing a gun permit, that it's not a toy, . . . that it only makes sense that it be required for anything as deadly as a gun,'' Taylor said.
Court officials reported a surge of applicants since the law went into effect July 1.
Gary Wright, Norfolk's chief deputy Circuit Court clerk, said that the court does not record the exact number of requests but that at least 200 applications have been filled out since Wednesday.
Under the old law, about two or three people applied for the permits on an average day, Wright said.
With 117 requests during the same period of four working days, Newport News reported more than four times the number than what was received in an average month. Judge Randolph West said he thinks the training should include all aspects of firearms use.
``Anybody can strap a gun on their side, but by requiring it I hope they will be trained in the proper use of a firearm,'' West said.
The new law allows concealed-weapon permits to be issued to virtually any law-abiding Virginia resident.
Under the old law, applicants had to appear before a judge to receive a permit. Permits were denied if the judge did not see them displaying good character or if they did not demonstrate a need to carry a hidden gun.
Applicants still must be 21 or older to receive a concealed-handgun permit.
Officials in Hampton and Portsmouth said on Monday that firearms training is not now being required but that the number of applicants have increased in those cities as well.
Hampton has received 236 applicants since the law went into effect, up from the 150 the court received in all 1994, said Clerk of Court Juanita Gupton.
Terrie Crummett, deputy clerk of Circuit Court in Portsmouth, did not have the number of permit-seekers this month, but she estimated the number has more than tripled.
``It has been unbelievable,'' Crummett said as she helped an applicant.
Virginia Beach has averaged 50 to 60 applications a day under the new law, totaling at least 200 by Monday, Chief Deputy Clerk Mike Davy said.
If the current rate of permit-seekers continues, he said, the number of applications in July alone will surpass the total 346 requests submitted between January and May.
Between Wednesday and Friday last week, Chesapeake's Circuit Court recorded 252 requests, up from 45 applications on an average month.
``I sort of suspected there'd be a lot more people,'' Clerk of Court Lillie M. Hart.
The steady flow of applicants continued in Suffolk, where 40 applications have been turned in since July 1.
``It's certainly way above average,'' Clerk of Court Henry C. Murden said. ``But it's a new thing. It's going to wear off.'' MEMO: Staff writer Mara Stanley contributed to this story.
ILLUSTRATION: CHANGES IN LAW
BEFORE: Judges could deny gun permits if applicants didn't display
good character or show a need for a concealed weapon.
NOW: Virtually any law-abiding resident can get a permit, but judges
can require that they have firearms training. Some local judges are
making the training mandatory.
by CNB