Gun permits drain resources of Salt Lake City

Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww...............Poooooooor...........Babieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees

"Lawmakers took steps Wednesday to correct legislation meant to speed gun permits, but that inadvertently undercut criminal checks for teachers and police investigations.

A bill sponsored by Rep. Curt Oda, R-Clearfield, was meant to reduce the backlog of gun background checks by allowing the state Bureau of Criminal Identification to keep all concealed-weapon permit fees beginning July 1.

But a last-minute funding shuffle to ensure the bill's passage slashed $654,000 from the BCI's annual funding.

Because the BCI is required by law to make the concealed-weapon program its top priority, the agency is forced to rob resources from other crucial duties, including required criminal background checks on teachers, nursing home workers and other sensitive jobs, said BCI chief Ed McConkie.

"The whole idea was to give dedicated credits to BCI [for gun background checks]," Oda explained to the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee. "But the bill got upside down during the session."

Oh sweet christ on a crutch the BCI takes all of two minutes. And since the requirements for becoming a cop are a lot lower than those necessary to acquire a concealed carry permit, if they're so all-fired busy why not simply drop the standards down to law enforcement levels. I'm always skeptical of bureaucracies that bitch and moan about having enough time or money to follow the law.

I'll say this about Florida's CCW process; I have never met people more courteous than those working for the local Sheriff's department. From the one who takes your check to the one that does the fingerprinting, to the one's that finalize the deal, these are professionals to the very core. If there's a question, comment, or concern, ANYTIME during the process, all one need do is flash off an email to the division of licensing and a polite reply is immediately, if not sooner, forthcoming. Mess up a form, or forget one, they'll smile and hand you a fresh sheet of paper without batting an eye.

Makes me glad I don't live in Utah.