7/09/2008

Orange County California Sheriff making permits more discretionary

The rules put in place by former Sheriff Carona look to be a thing of the past. Carona had implemented a right to carry type set of rules. Indeed, he had even mentioned my book More Guns, Less Crime when he first ran for sheriff. I guess things regress towards the mean in California.

Last month the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that individual Americans have a constitutional right to own a gun. But will Orange County's new sheriff tighten the rules on who can actually carry one?
At issue here is "carry concealed weapon" permits, or "CCWs," which allow a citizen to carry a loaded firearm under a jacket or in a purse or glove compartment. Currently about 1,100 people in Orange County (not including police officers) have such permits – which is more CCWs than any other urban county in the state. And while some people think the requirements for obtaining a CCW are too restrictive, others believe they're not restrictive enough.
New Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens appears to be leaning toward the latter group.
Soon after being appointed last month, Hutchens announced plans to review all CCWs issued by her predecessor, indicted former Sheriff Mike Carona, to determine if the permit holders had a legitimate need or "good cause" to carry a gun. If in her view they don't have that need, their permits will be revoked. She plans to have a new CCW policy in place by the end of this month.
"I probably will tighten it up a bit, but probably not as drastically as some people might assume," Hutchens told me. But Hutchens also indicated that she envisions a higher threshold on the "good cause" necessary for a citizen to have a CCW. . . .


Thanks to Tom Williams.

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3 Comments:

Blogger GEM said...

I guess everyone will just have to open carry.

7/09/2008 9:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've met Corona. I've participated in a fundraiser for him. I've heard him cite your book in public.

The qualification and licensing process costs about $500 for a 2 year CCW. Unaffordable to most people. Hardly egalitarian.

Kern County I think has a more liberal CCW policy... they may have more CCW's than Orange County.

7/11/2008 1:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What the hell is "good cause"??
I left Long Beach, California, it's right next door to OC, partly because the government tried to disarm me, despite the fact Long Beach was not very safe in places. I guess living in a crime ridden neighborhood, and seeing people I knew, victimized by criminals, didn't count as "good cause" to carry, huh? What a sanctimonious Sheriff. I was more afraid of police than I was of crooks, the damn California penal code 12020 made almost any kind of non-gun weapon illegal to carry. If the damn California politicians and authorities wouldn't let one carry a firearm then you'de think they wouldn't bother people carrying a decent knife or impact weapon-but, nooo. Heck, a metal flashlight or a pocketknife were about the only things legal to carry.
Sad to see the California authorities are still making criminals out of people whose only crime is wanting criminals to leave them alone.

10/20/2008 11:11 AM  

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