Gun rights are for immigrants too

Ellis Island naturalization ceremony, September 18, 2006

Many gun owners in the DC Metro area hold concealed Virginia handgun permits.  These permits are pretty easy to get for both residents and non-Virginia residents alike, and are widely accepted throughout the United States.

So last week I decided to check up on the concealed handgun permit (CHP) application file privacy practices of the Clerks of the Circuit Courts for Arlington County and the City of Alexandria, both in Virginia.  In particular, I was looking to see of the Clerks of Court were exercising their option authority to withhold The results were surprisingly upbeat, in more ways than one.

By the way, for those of you new to the ways of the Old Dominion, cities are not part of counties, rather, each are independent of each other and city residents pay no taxes to counties.  It's kind of like saying "the pepperoni is not in the pizza," but I digress.

So on Wednesday, August 5th I walked into the Arlington County Circuit Court Clerk's office and ask to inspect their CHP application files.  The employees looked at me kinda funny and said something about having to safeguard social security numbers in the files. 

I said "that's fine, it's your option, so just bring me one file and do what you gotta do."  Soon after an employee brought out a file consisting only of the CHP application and an attached NRA shooting course certificate (Virginia law requires CHP applicant to present proof of competency with firearms) . 

The application's SSN filed was blank, a sign that the applicant was smart and declined to disclose his confidential SSN - after all, the form plainly states that this is optional and the applicant has a legal right to refuse to disclose his SSN unless the government cites a specific federal statute allowing the government agency to require SSN disclosure.

The Arlington Circuit Court Clerk's employee said "that's the only paperwork we keep" and that they consider the proof of competency to be part of the application.  I subsequently checked with the Library of Virginia and was told that state law only requires the "applications" to be preserved and even those can be destroyed after 10 years.

So far so good on the SSN thing, but I made mental note:  The applicant was an immigrant from Pakistan.  On to Alexandria.

In Alexandria, the Circuit Court clerk has put the concealed handgun permit application file online via its pay per view system - the same system that lawyers, the real estate industry, and others use routinely look at court documents from home and office computers every day.  Not being a paid subscriber, on Thursday August 6th I went to the Alexandria courthouse and used a computer terminal on the wall used by the public to retrieve records for viewing and printing. 

An Alexandria circuit Court employee explained that SSNs in these records are redacted in the pay per view online scheme, but on the wall monitor they were not, so if I printed any records, I was to bring them to the window for redaction when I paid for printing.  And sure enough, the first CHP record I pulled up had an SSN it - but unlike the Arlington courthouse, the system retained the full police criminal history report on the applicant.

So I paid for my copies of the application and reminded the employee to redact the SSN from the records I had printed.  But as I walked out of the courthouse I looked down at the application again - this applicant also was an immigrant, this time from Sierra Leone.  Hmmmm.

Granted, a survey of only two courthouses and two CHP applications is not a scientific sample, but the results were surprising in three ways.  First, both Circuit Court Clerks' staff seemed to know they had authority to withhold SSNs in CHP applications from public view (that authority is at Va. Code § 18.2-308(D)), though Alexandria should  redact the SSNs in CHP applications on the wall monitor in their office as the honor system redaction method is not sure fire privacy protection.  Second, one out of two random applicants declined to disclose his SSN on the application.  And third, most surprisingly, both applicants on the two files pulled were immigrants.

Some gun rights advocates worry that immigrants from other cultures will dilute support for gun rights in America.  But I'm not so sure that's true, especially since immigrants come to America for freedom and opportunity not found in their home country.  And the fact that two out of two random CHP applicants in Virginia are immigrants just goes to show you that it appears that gun rights are for immigrants too.