You’ve no doubt heard of concealed carry courses that are either recommended or sometimes required for an individual to take before they are allowed to carry a firearm in public. But what about online concealed carry courses?
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Online Concealed Carry Courses
Basically, online concealed courses allow gun owners to conceal their guns outside of their homes in public just like any other concealed carry course, but without them having to take an in-person course. Courses like this have the potential to help more people receive these licenses, but some also see this as a significant problem.
These courses can increase the number of people who are carrying guns and can expand the locations that you can take the gun.
Virginia Online Concealed Carry Courses
The state that started all of this was Virginia. Virginia’s online concealed carry course is accepted in 34 states if you are a Virginia resident and 28 states if you are not a Virginia resident. The other rule following this is that you do not need to be a Virginia citizen to take these courses. These courses are open to anyone. Even if your state does not accept the Virginia online course, you can take this course, and you can carry your gun in any of the states that do allow it.
Online concealed courses can allow users to increase the number of states that they can carry a concealed gun. For example, Colorado does not except Virginia conceal carry course, instead has its residents do their own. However, the states surrounding Colorado do except the online concealed carry course from Virginia so, if you are living in Colorado and want to carry your gun out of the state, you can if you take the Virginia Concealed Carry course.
Taking the course is simple, and anyone can do it. First, you must qualify to take the course. After you are eligible for the course, you will be sent a survey to take and some training videos. After you watch the videos, you are done with the course. You will then have the opportunity to download the certificate, or you can have the certificate mailed to you. You can then submit your application to the state, and you will be able to carry your gun in around 70 percent of the states.
Qualifying for a Online Carry Course
To qualify for these courses, you must meet several different requirements. For starters, you must be 21 years of age and not be deemed insane by courts in the past five years. After these, you also can not be convicted of a felony and be subject to a restraining/protective order.
You also can not have been convicted of any assault, battery, sexual battery within three years or have been convicted of two or more misdemeanors with five years. Finally, you can not be addicted to marijuana or be an unlawful user or distributor, and you cannot be dishonorably discharged from the United States Armed Forces.
Guns have become a hot political topic over the years, and courses like this are likely to receive some pushback eventually. However, there are currently no attempts to remove these courses. There is a lot of gun policies out there, but for now, these courses are likely to be a thing still. Some might worry about the law changing and potentially losing your license if you take this course. However, according to the course website, you will be grandfathered in. This means that even if the law changes, you will still be able to use this license.
Additional Steps
These courses also claim that there is no government red tape involved. However, this is not true for people. The certificate is not the only element that is needed to acquire the permit. You will also need to send in some fingerprint samples with a notarized application.
The fingerprint samples will be sent to the Virginia State Police, and you will still have to go through a background check both at the state and federal level. You can only receive your license to conceal carry after you have done both things. The certificate you receive at the end of the course is not enough to allow you to conceal your weapon.
Conclusion
In conclusion, these online concealed carry courses have the potential to change the landscape of gun ownership. These courses can increase the number of people who can travel with their weapons. While it is entirely understandable if someone is skeptical about these courses, they are completely legit. Whether your state accepts the Virginia Online conceal course or not, you are eligible to take these courses.
You can use this course to meet the requirements for 28 states if you are not a Virginia resided, so even if your state does not accept this pass, you may want to consider taking the course. While some might see this as a loophole, you still have to participate in the traditional government standards. You must print out the certificate and mail it with a notarized application. You will also have to go through a background check. With all of this, the Virginia Online concealment course is arguable the closes thing to a national concealed carry permit.
