I am getting contradicting information on this issue.
On March 20, 2020, Eddie Caldwell, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association published a document (attached) which says that nothing prevents a sheriff from suspending CHP fingerprinting services in times of a declared emergency. The last paragraph on the first page speaks about CHP applications, and how they are treated differently than other non criminal, civil fingerprinting.
"The processing of Concealed Handgun Permits (CHP) under our General Statutes is treated differently in terms of who conducts fingerprinting. Pursuant to G.S.14-415.13, a CHP applicant must submit a full set of fingerprints to the sheriff and the fingerprinting must be “administered by a sheriff.” (red emphasis mine) It continues in the same paragraph, "The statute does not appear to prohibit a sheriff from suspending CHP fingerprinting services during a declared state of emergency." and "Based on this statutory language, any sheriff suspending CHP fingerprinting services during a declared state of emergency would be protected from any civil or criminal liability related to the temporary suspension of this service due to public safety concerns, such as the coronavirus pandemic."
Then on March 27, 2020, the same Eddie Caldwell published another document (also attached) which completely contradicts the first document. The last sentence in paragraph "B" :
"Article 54B does not grant to the sheriff the authority to suspend the processing or issuance of concealed handgun permits because of a declared state of emergency."
What I find confusing is the first publication states that a sheriff CAN suspend the CHP Fingerprinting service, while the second publication says that a sheriff cannot suspend the processing or issuance of concealed handgun permits because of a declared state of emergency. But the fingerprint service is PART OF the processing and issuance of the permit!
This is coming directly from the NC Sheriff's Association, and seems very contradictional to me.
As part of the fingerprinting group in our sheriff's office, I became aware of another fact: If an application for a new CHP is processed today, the accompanying fingerprints MUST ALSO be submitted to Raleigh by 5:00 pm on the SAME DAY! So, the timing of "processing" and "fingerprinting" for a new CHP application is crucial.
Our sheriff suspended all civil, non-criminal fingerprinting three weeks ago. I personally am part of the volunteer staff that scans AFIS fingerprints. Fingerprinting is a "contact" sport. There is no way I can scan your fingerprints while keeping a "social distance" or not physically touching you. For that reason, all non-criminal fingerprinting was shut down because of corona-virus. The subject came up about the issuance of new CHPs. After "the powers that be" discussed and reviewed all angles of the issue, it was decided that NEW CHPs WILL continue to be processed. All of our fingerprinting is scheduled online, so there is no personal contact needed. Since no fingerprints are required for RENEWAL of a CHP or a PPP, the ONLY problem arises with NEW CHP applications.
All civil, non-criminal fingerprinting in our Sheriff's Office is conducted by we volunteers and has been shut down during this corona-virus time. Fingerprinting for CHPs will resume, however, at this time, it is not clear if Sheriff's Office employees or we volunteers will do the actual fingerprinting.
I am a member of the volunteer team that takes fingerprints. I have become very good at it, and enjoy the interaction with people. But I am also concerned about the spread of ANY virus, cold, flu, etc. Most of we volunteers are retired, elderly folks, and not all of us have the same strong immune systems of youth.
The shutdown of fingerprinting at our Sheriff's Office had NOTHING to do with the second amendment. Our sheriff is very much, PRO 2A. Fingerprinting was shut down to protect we volunteers who actually take the fingerprints. After review, it was decided that new applications for CHPs WILL be processed, and fingerprinting for that purpose only will continue. Since we are all volunteers, no one can FORCE us to come in and take fingerprints. That may revert back to Sheriff's Office employees until we all get back to normal.
I pray that this whole virus runs its course, and we can all get back to normal soon.