Concealed weapons

Nevada's high court has ruled that the identities of concealed gun permit holders and records related to the permit's current status are public records under state law despite an exemption that makes the application for a permit confidential.

A bill that would seal the list of concealed-carry permit holders in Arkansas is now in the hands of the state Senate, as the House of Representatives there passed the measure 98 to 1 last week, the Associated Press reports.

Rep. Randy Stewart, a concealed-carry instructor, pushed the legislation after the Arkansas Times'  Web site linked to a state police database of permit holders -- a move the lawmaker called "atrocious," the AP said.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine will soon have the option to sign legislation banning public disclosure of a state database of concealed handgun permit-holders.

An Oregon sheriff is pushing concealed handgun license holders by the thousands to fight what he suspects could be an appellate decision saying their names and other information are public.

A new law that recently passed in South Carolina exempts names of concealed weapons permit holders from the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

The bill, signed into law on April 16, bars the public from knowing the names of the more than 60,000 permit holders in the state. Access is limited to law enforcement officials or through a court order only.

Last week, the Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed a controversial bill (SB 3755) that would not only seal all information about conceal-and-carry gun permits, but also penalize anyone, including journalists, who publish the information, possibly with jail time and/or severe fines.

South Carolina lawmakers are considering legislation, HB 4243, which would keep the list of state gun permit holders a secret. 

Advocates of the bill argue that the public list might reveal the addresses of victims of abuse or lead criminals to the whereabouts of guns. Critics, however, contend that the information should be available to the public with exclusions for extenuating circumstances.

The public may no longer be able to see the more than 2,800 names registered for concealed weapons licenses in Cabell County, W.Va., if a bill restricting this access makes it way through the state legislature.

A bill seeking to limit public access to a database of citizens with concealed weapons permits died in a Senate committee on Monday.