East Wake Times

A Superior Court judge gave Wake County Sheriff Gerald Baker seven days to make the health safety changes necessary to resume accepting handgun purchase applications.

Resident Superior Court Judge A. Graham Shirley filed the order on March 31, the News & Observer reported.

“Baker’s decision to temporarily suspend acceptance of applications was due to his efforts to comply with proclamations of emergency restrictions and his paramount and legitimate concern for the public health and safety in light of the existing declared states of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak,” the court order said.

The Sheriff’s Office will post the modified application process on its Pistol Permits Office’s website.

Baker told the News & Observer he was pleased with Shirley’s order.

A week earlier, the sheriff suspended pistol purchase applications until April 30. He took the action because of a backlog of applications coupled with a concern that the increasing number of applicants coming to the office could spread the coronavirus.

The News & Observer reported applications were almost 500% higher than the same period in 2018. The Wake County Clerk of Courts can’t keep up with the background checks required for the permits.

Baker’s decision led to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. State gun-rights group Grass Roots North Carolina, Wake County resident Kelly Stafford and a pair of national organizations, Second Amendment Foundation and Firearms Policy Coalition, joined in the suit.

The state court order is under review by Grass Roots North Carolina, Paul Valone, its president told The News & Observer.

County residents still can’t get a new concealed-carry permit application filed. Public fingerprinting has been suspended by the Raleigh/Wake City-County Bureau of Identification. The Sheriff’s Office can’t process the applications. Renewals can still be processed.