Georgia vs Tennessee. . .and I'm not talking about football!

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thirdeagle

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I just applied for my firearms license in Georgia (Athens-Clarke County) and I was pleasantly surprised that:

1. the cost was less than I anticipated
2. the process only took 30 min
3. my license was "guaranteed" to be in my hands in 2 weeks

In total, I spent 10 minutes at the probate court filling out the firearms license form ($15 dollar fee) and 20 minutes at the Sheriffs office to get fingerprinted ($24.25 fee - NOT $36.00 as posted on georgiapacking.org). Now I'll see if they hold to their 2 week guarantee!

Now, to the GA vs TN part, and the only reason I'm posting this - to offer some perspective. I also went through this process in Tennessee 3 years ago when I was a permanent resident there. From beginning to end, the process took over 3 months and almost $200 after you figure in a training/qualification course, fingerprinting fees, and the requisite firearms license fee. That does not include the time taken off one's life from having the stressful encounter with folks at the TN DMV (most assuredly overworked, and underpaid - no offense meant to them).

I guess you could say Georgia wins this round!
 
yeah, you say "license" in GA or TN and most people think you're talking about your FFL to open a store. heck, i thought that's what you were talking about until your last paragraph
 
When we got our CCW in Georgia, we went to the County Courthouse, filled out the paperwork, drove to the jail, paid $25.00 for fingerprints (laser prints, at that), drove back to the Courthouse, and picked up our permits. Same day, just over 2 hours, total, for 2 CCW.:)
 
Excessive cost and ridiculous delays, just a few of the things we have to work on here in TN.
 
hso - well, knock on wood, but if Mumpower becomes speaker of the house in January, we've got a good chance of making some progress...
 
Not to throw another log on the fire or anything... But when I first got my CCW in Alabama it only took the time for the sheriff to fill out the permit and take my $12. Total time was about 3 minutes. And, even though I am in law enforcement, I still get it renewed every year on July 12th.
 
For a while there was a backlog on getting new permits as well as renewals. Mine expired about 9 months ago and I had been told it would take longer than usual so I went in 6 weeks before the expiration date. Took over 2 months and mine lapsed for a few weeks. My brother just got his renewed and it only took about 10 days. Glad they have got their problems sorted out.
 
Rocinante/taliv: Yes, I'm talking about a permit to carry concealed. When you go to the Clarke County courthouse they call it a "firearms license." When I go to purchase a firearm at, say, Franklins (heaven forbid) they ask to see a "firearms license" so they don't have to call in for the background check. When you go to the Tennessee DMV in Johnson City they call it a "firearms license." Don't know what the confusion is about BUT I can see you might have confused my discussion of a "firearms license" with the FFL (which, by the way, I would have referred to as an FFL and would NOT have gone to my local courthouse and Sheriffs office to obtain).

As for renewals, I did see a nice big sign that said renewals will not be given out the same day the application is submitted (aka we'll take our darn sweet time).

jr47: From what municipality did you apply for your license? As for the 2 day turn-around, I might expect a quicker turn-around in more rural areas. I think volume may be the issue in Athens, but I may be wrong on that. I certainly wouldn't expect a 2 day turn-around in, say, Clarke, Fulton, Cobb, or Gwinnett counties. Not to mention the Athens city and Clarke county governments are one in the same; basically, if you live in Clarke county, you live in Athens. I don't know how this affects turn around times on "firearms licenses." Besides, the point was to highlight the ridiculous financial and time investment a citizen has to commit for a license in TN while giving some kudos to the process in Georgia.

Lone_gunman: Point taken - I hear you on the restrictions. However, that won't stop me from exercising my right to carry here in Georgia and abroad. I work at a university 7 days a week so I carry on-person very rarely. My biggest concern is for the safety of my family when we are traveling (GA, SC, NC, TN, and a permanent move to MT next spring).
 
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thirdeagle you are right about your terminology it is a Georgia Firearms License. I'm not sure about the exact laws in SC but if I were traveling there I believe I would check them out. If I recall correctly from a GeorgiaCarry.org E-mail SC does not recognize a Ga Firearms License (They don't like it that Georgia doesn't require training).
 
MikeJ: IIRC, all the states I routinely travel through have reciprocity agreements with GA but you are right, I need to check!
 
TN not as bad as used to be

I have heard before 1996 that getting a TN handgun carry permit was a pain of an ordeal that was handled through the county sheriffs and done their way however they saw fit. You also had to have liability insurance/bond posted to get a permit and qualify with what you carried. I'm assuming all these hoops were done to discourage people from LEGALLY carrying. I have always believed that carry permits/licenses becoming more available have for the most part helped legalize what people have been doing before it was relatively easy to get. Of course 20 plus years ago, if you were clean cut and not causing problems, and didn't have a license, the police wouldn't give you a problem. Times have changed in that respect. Now the judicial system expects you to get the license/permit, since most people with a clean record can get them.
 
Not sure how it used to be, but when I got my TN permit last year it wasn't too bad. Kind of expensive, though. $85.00 for a one day required class, then $115.00 application fee at the DMV. Took right about 90 days for my permit to arrive after that.
 
I have both a GA and TN permit. When I applied for my GA permit, it took them about oh 3 months to get it to me. Of course, this was through DeKalb county, which is notorious for their "when we feel like it" attitude towards issuing firearms licenses. I seem to recall that the new bill that expanded GA carry rights had a clause specifically aimed at DeKalb and their "when we feel like it" attitude.

That said, I do appreciate having my TN permit a lot more then my GA permit, main reason being that a lot more states recognize a TN permit then the GA permit.
 
Update

She's here! I received my firearms license in exactly one week. It's interesting that GA does not have a picture on the license just print.

Kudos to Clarke county (for once!)
 
i hear there are pretty bad delays in TN. i mailed in my completed application in TX on 07/14 and i'm still waiting. that's 144 days for anyone who's counting, despite the fact that they have a legal limit of 60 days to process applications. so, yeah, i'm getting just a little peeved.

on the upside, it gave me something else to write my state representatives about...
 
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