I sometimes have ideas...

I've been thinking about something- I will be lobbying my State Legislature for this. If you're interested in joining me in this proposal, it's a simple one: Waive the State's fees for Concealed Pistol Licensing for Military and Coast Guard who are otherwise eligible.

Proposed Amendment to RCW 9.41.070:

Current:

(5) The nonrefundable fee, paid upon application, for the original five-year license shall be thirty-six dollars plus additional charges imposed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that are passed on to the applicant. No other state or local branch or unit of government may impose any additional charges on the applicant for the issuance of the license.

Proposed Amendment:

(5) The nonrefundable fee, paid upon application, for the original five-year license shall be thirty-six dollars plus additional charges imposed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that are passed on to the applicant. Any person not otherwise ineligible under subsection (1) of this section, notwithstanding a person whose eligibility has been restored under subsection (3), upon presentation of valid identification as a member of the Armed Services or Reserves of the United States, the National Guard of any State, or the United States Coast Guard, shall have such fees waived other than charges imposed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. No other state or local branch or unit of government may impose any additional charges on the applicant for the issuance of the license.

Current:

(6) The nonrefundable fee for the renewal of such license shall be thirty-two dollars. No other branch or unit of government may impose any additional charges on the applicant for the renewal of the license.

Proposed Amendment:

(6) The nonrefundable fee for the renewal of such license shall be thirty-two dollars. This fee shall be waived upon presentation of valid identification as a member of the Armed Services or Reserves of the United States, the National Guard of any State, or the United States Coast Guard. No other branch or unit of government may impose any additional charges on the applicant for the renewal of the license.

If you live in Vancouver (SW Washington) as I do, you'll find the contact information on the right sidebar. If you live elsewhere in WA, you'll just have to be responsible for looking it up yourself. In fact, I need to do some checking to make sure all my links are still accurate.

It's just a few words, should be easy, right??

Like anything, it comes with a trade-off. This time in the form of revenue, which is largely dedicated to the maintenance of the CPL program itself by law:

The fee shall be distributed as follows:

(a) Fifteen dollars shall be paid to the state general fund;
(b) Four dollars shall be paid to the agency taking the fingerprints of the person licensed;
(c) Fourteen dollars shall be paid to the issuing authority for the purpose of enforcing this chapter; and
(d) Three dollars to the firearms range account in the general fund.

(6) The nonrefundable fee for the renewal of such license shall be thirty-two dollars. No other branch or unit of government may impose any additional charges on the applicant for the renewal of the license.

The renewal fee shall be distributed as follows:
(a) Fifteen dollars shall be paid to the state general fund;
(b) Fourteen dollars shall be paid to the issuing authority for the purpose of enforcing this chapter; and
(c) Three dollars to the firearms range account in the general fund.

(7) The nonrefundable fee for replacement of lost or damaged licenses is ten dollars to be paid to the issuing authority.

So if some quarter million Washingtonians have Concealed Pistol Licenses, and a representative sample of them are military (under 2%, including active duty, reserves, etc.) then we're looking at roughly 250,000 people x 2% x $34 (splitting difference between new and renewal permits) / 4 (4 year renewal period) = ~$42,500 per year in lost revenue. Might bump that up a few bucks because more military folks might get Concealed Permits if they got a break on the price. Round it up to a nice figure- call it $50 grand a year.

You'd think the offset to the range fees might be taken up by military folks practicing primarily on State and Federal military firing ranges anyway. I wouldn't change the replacement fee, it encourages people to be careful and conscious.

But now you would have more people who have already made conscious decisions to be "sheepdogs", making another conscious decision, one step further down that path, that much more conscious of their responsibility to themselves and their duty as citizens.