The Gun Counter

Gun permit holders: Want your name withheld?
By Hasso Hering
Albany Democrat-Herald

Holders of concealed-carry gun permits in Linn County will soon get a letter asking them if they want their names withheld in case someone makes a public-records request.

Sheriff Tim Mueller made that announcement today after a staff meeting.

As of today, 4,365 Linn County residents had such permits. The letter will ask them to fill out and return a form if they obtained the permits for reasons of personal safety, and if they return it, their names will not be subject to disclosure.

Mueller said Linn had the third-highest percentage of permit holders behind Jackson and Douglas counties.

Volunteers will handle the mailing, Mueller said, to keep the cost at about $2,000. The letters are to go out this week.

The issue — should information on carry permits be public under Oregon’s public-records law? — came up in a court case in Jackson County.

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