A question to anyone who’d like to answer/comment: I Delaware State Police officer made a ‘off the record’ comment to me not too long ago—paraphrasing here—“[sic] if you’re going to carry a concealed weapon, why do you want to publish your name and address in a newspaper? . . . [sic] what positive purpose do five ‘references’ serve?” I agree with his point of view. Comments/replies???
A) yes, we are aware of how stupid the requirements are
B) it's been done that way for a long time, and nobody in power seems inclined to remove requirements.
Supposedly back in the day when everyone read the paper it gave a chance for the community to notice that the "town nut" or someone with a known violent streak / grudge was applying. They could mention their concerns to the Judge and a license might not be issued, despite there not being any criminal history that would automatically cause a denial (remember our process is technically "may-issue" not "shall-issue").