In response to the mass shooting in Orlando, one Missouri sheriff has decided that the safety of the residents in his rural county south of Kansas City is more important than money.
Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson announced on June 13th that for the rest of the month of June, for any resident of his county that wanted to apply for a CCW permit, he would waive the normal $100 fee for the 5-year carry permit for new applicants and allow them to attend a CCW class taught by his office on July 9th, also for free.
“I feel that I have a duty to protect the citizens while here in Bates County,” Anderson said, “and allow them to be able to protect themselves and their loved ones while they are away” and “I will not put blinders on and act like this [Orlando] cannot happen here or to people we know and love.”
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.
Sheriff Anderson made the announcement on the department’s official Facebook page, where he added that he continues praying for peace in the U.S. and worldwide.
The post went on to include “I want to say a Big Thank You to the Law Enforcement and First Responders Community for what you are willing to sacrifice for our nation at home. While this will be debated on so many different levels please remember that your local first responders are the ones that will be there ready at a moments notice to handle any of these threats.”
The post has been shared nearly 1,400 times.
As of this writing, the July 9th class was full and the sheriff’s department was considering offering another class later on.
US LawShield Independent Program Attorney Deborah Alessi stated “I believe this action by the Sheriff demonstrates that law abiding firearm owners are ‘their people’ because they are not a threat to the police and they need to be able to protect themselves when the police cannot.”
What are your thoughts about the sheriff’s decision, good idea or bad?
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