There is a saying that all politics are local, and in this vein, there seems to be a developing trend that small towns and municipalities are the bedrock that is beginning to fight to restore Second Amendment rights across the country.
We’ve reported extensively on the many New Jersey municipalities that have begun rebating concealed carry permit fees, and now, in the first-of-its-kind (that we’re aware of), the sheriff of a small Virginia town is beginning to do the same.
On August 4, interim Sheriff of Wythe, Virginia, Anthony Cline, sent a memo to Wythe County Circuit Court stating the Wythe County Sheriff’s office would no longer be collecting the administrative fees normally collected by the Sheriff’s office associated with concealed handgun permit applications. This decision reduced the fee from $50 to $15, the remainder of which is related to the court processing fee. The 70% fee reduction is no small matter for Americans who are both under an inflation squeeze and fed up with death-by-one-thousand-cuts infringement upon their civil liberties.
Click here to see Sheriff Cline’s Memo stating he will not collect the fees for a carry permit.
News2A reached out to Sheriff Cline, who is running for the open sheriff’s seat, for comment on why he made this decision. He said he was unaware of the New Jersey actions, but had his own history, reasoning, and convictions for his decision.
When I was sworn in by the Circuit Court Judge, I recited the following oath:
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.
As I reflected on that oath—especially the part about upholding the Constitution of the United States—I thought about what it 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.
The oath of office is a solemnly observed tradition and a legally binding one for elected officials. In recent years, Americans have begun to question the validity of such oaths across party lines as they see elected officials embrace what are widely considered to be unconstitutional measures. Sheriff Cline expanded on his analysis of the fee structure:
When I was appointed Sheriff of Wythe County on August 1, 2025, the fee for a concealed weapons permit was $50. That amount included $10 for the Commonwealth of Virginia, $5 for the Virginia State Police, and $35 for the Sheriff’s Office to conduct the background check…
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.
While law enforcement and legally armed citizens sometimes find themselves at odds, Sheriff Cline shared an unexpected story as he closed his comments to us.
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.
This story is illustrative of many significant points that the Second Amendment community has been making for years, foremost that criminals don’t follow laws, and perhaps more poignantly, that it is law-abiding gun owners who frequently (and statistically) are the impediment to violent crime, and often the only thing that stops or limits mass carnage.
If you want to support Sheriff Cline’s campaign, you can do so by visiting this link.
