Virginia Sheriff: If Bad Guys Are Carrying Guns for Free, Why Should Good Guys Have to Pay?

How do licensing officials get away with charging for the Second Amendment? Sheriff Cline of Wythe County, Va. asked the same and abolished the Sheriff’s background check fee for CCWs.

Interim Sheriff Anthony Cline of Wythe County, Virginia recently stepped up to serve since the retirement of Sheriff Charles Foster. The first official public act that Sheriff Cline executed since taking office was the declaration that he’d no longer be collecting fees for concealed handgun permit applications. In the August 4, 2025 letter he sent to the county clerk, Cline said, “As Sheriff, I do not believe citizens should be charged to exercise their constitutional rights.”

Sheriff Cline’s move to no longer accept the sheriff’s portion of permitting fees is part of a growing movement. Cline does not attribute his action to what’s been seen in New Jersey with townships nullifying permit to carry fees. However, that does not change that this is starting to become a trend.

This is Sheriff Cline’s letter to Clerk Jeremiah Musser of the county circuit court in full:

I am writing to formally notify you that effective immediately, the Wythe County Sheriff’s Office will no longer collect the Sheriff’s fee associated with Concealed Handgun Permit applications. This action reduces the total cost for applications from $50 to $15, with only the court processing fee remaining.

As Sheriff, I do not believe citizens should be charged to exercise their constitutional rights. My duty is to protect those rights, not to profit from them. Removing this fee reflects my commitment to supporting law-abiding gun owners and upholding the principles of the Second Amendment.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need clarification regarding this change.

Sincerely,
Sheriff Anthony Cline

Bearing Arms reached out to Sheriff Cline about this move. Cline attributes his policy specifically to his oath of office.

“When I was sworn in by the Circuit Court Judge, I recited the following oath,” Cline said. “I, Anthony Cline, do solemnly swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties incumbent upon me in the Office of Sheriff, so help me God.”

Cline said that when he reflected upon that oath of office, “especially the part about upholding the Constitution of the United States,” he said he thought about what that truly means. “I consider myself an American patriot. While our country has its challenges, I still believe we live in the greatest nation on Earth,” Cline said.

Cline’s statement continued:

It didn’t sit right with me that our citizens were being charged a Sheriff’s fee to exercise their Second Amendment rights. I couldn’t find any instance where people are charged to exercise other constitutional rights—so I decided to eliminate the $35 Sheriff’s fee from the permit. I believe government shouldn’t tax its citizens simply because it can.

Over 20 years ago, when I was a deputy, I responded to a disturbance call late one night in our rural county of about 28,000 residents. When I arrived, I found myself fighting two men—alone. My closest backup was on the other side of the county. As I called for help over the radio, I saw headlights approaching. They didn’t look like police car headlights, and I feared more of the suspects’ friends had arrived. But instead, a man stepped out of the vehicle with a firearm—ready to help me. He had heard my call for help on his scanner. Because of him, I gained control of the situation, and both suspects went to jail.

It’s situations like that which remind me: if the bad guys can carry guns for free, a Sheriff shouldn’t be charging the good guys to carry one. In rural counties, those good guys might just be the ones who come to our rescue.

Sheriff Cline’s story about being able to faithfully execute that arrest twenty years ago, only because an armed citizen came to his aid, serves as proof of the importance of an armed populace

Municipalities and issuing authorities implementing policies where they’re no longer taxing citizens’ rights harkens back to the Second Amendment sanctuary movement from half a decade ago. The difference is that in the instance of permit to carry fee rebates or refusal to collect the fees, there’s a real benefit to the people — there’s nothing symbolic about this. This is a real movement that affects people in a beneficial way.

We’ll be adding the Commonwealth of Virginia to the list of states and areas to watch for civil servants committing to honoring their oaths via similar measure. Bearing Arms will also continue to follow stories throughout the country of jurisdictions taking the position that fee nullification is a way they can serve the people.

Editor’s Note: Second Amendment wins are happening at every level of government, and Bearing Arms is proud to play a role in pushing to protect our 2A rights. Become a Bearing Arms VIP Member to help defend our liberties, and take 60% off your membership when you use the promo code FIGHT.