Reacting to the deadliest mass murder shooting in U.S. history, a Missouri sheriff is waiving any fees for people wanting a five-year concealed carry permit in his county during the month of June.
Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson announced the decision in a Facebook post Monday afternoon, saying in part:
“I feel that I have a duty to protect the citizens while here in Bates County and allow them to be able to protect themselves and their loves ones while they are away” and “I will not put blinders on and act like this cannot happen here or to people we know and love.”
The move only affects people living and therefore applying in Bates County and also comes with a waiver of fees for a sheriff’s office-taught CCW class. The fee for a CCW permit is $100.
People in the Bates County town of Butler are praising the sheriff’s choice.
“I think it’s a great decision by our sheriff because I think it’s one of the safest ways we as Americans have to protect ourselves is with ourselves,” said Immanuel Baptist Church Pastor Jeff Connell. “If someone came into church with a gun, I would rather have my members have a gun to protect themselves than having nothing to protect themselves against one.”
CCW carrier James Morris also says Anderson made the right choice.
“Good decision. They ought to have it to protect themselves. You have your gun with you, you’ve got protection,” said Morris.
Dennis Barr, who was traveling through Butler, says as long as there are more trained gun owners, there is a lower chance of shootings like Orlando.
“Properly trained and responsible adults. I think if we had more people out there that were responsible concealed carriers, I think we’d have a lot less of this going on,” said Barr.
Disagreement outside of Bates County
Not everyone agrees with the sheriff’s decision, pushing back via social media.
What. The. Hell. https://t.co/WZ6qja54wk
— Trish Cross (@bytrish) June 14, 2016
I have no words. Waiving fees on CCW permits so people can stock up. #Missouri https://t.co/8jkbQqsuhg
— Nik (@WrapNik75) June 14, 2016
Ugh. This is certainly not the solution. https://t.co/DffFzgpzLi
— Sabrina O (@SabrinaO0318) June 14, 2016
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Brian Abel can be reached at brian.abel@kshb.com.
