5 Reasons You Will Be Denied a Concealed Pistol License

We live in an era of non-stop budget cuts and law enforcement agencies are often at the receiving end. The police cannot be everywhere and gun advocates believe crime and mass shootings will be reduced if more guns are possessed by law abiding citizens in public spaces. All fifty states allow their citizens to carry a hidden firearm in public with a permit. In the State of Washington, carrying a pistol that is concealed while you are in public is a misdemeanor criminal law violation unless you have a concealed weapons permit (CPL). It is also a crime if you carry a loaded firearm in your vehicle without a CPL.

Well-meaning, law-abiding gun owners could be violating the law without knowing it. I would highly recommend applying for a CPL if you own a firearm. All you need is to bring $52 and a driver’s license to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office or the Sheriff’s office where you live. They will conduct a background check to determine your eligibility.

Here are the 5 most common reasons you will be denied a CPL:

1. You are subject to a restraining order, protection order, anti-harassment order or any other order prohibiting contact with a person or prohibiting possessing a firearm
   • Be aware that many family law cases involving divorce incorporate a restraining order that prohibit possessing a firearm.
2. You have ever been committed to a mental institution or deemed mentally defective.
3. You have a felony conviction in this State or elsewhere. Vacating the conviction may help the approval process for your CPL application. Click here to contact the Law Office of Michael P. Sheehy to determine your eligibility.
4. You have unlawfully used a controlled substance within the past year.
5. You have a convictions for any of the following crimes committed by one family member against another:
   • Assault IV
   • Coercion
   • Stalking
   • Reckless Endangerment
   • Criminal Trespass in the first degree
   • Violation of the provisions of a protection order or no-contact order restraining the person or excluding the person from the residence

Protect your rights and apply for a CPL

*Disclaimer: Michael Sheehy only restores firearm rights in Washington state.*