A significant legal victory took place last week for those of us who strongly believe in the Second Amendment rights of Americans to keep and bear arms. A three-judge panel of the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, on a two-one vote, overturned a lower court ruling in the case of Peruta vs. County of San Diego and, without going into all of the whys and wherefores, ruled unconstitutional California’s law that required the issuer of a permit to carry a concealed firearm to provide a reason (beyond simply desire, or self defense) for wanting the permit, which had to be approved by the issuing authority (typically a county Sheriff). The ruling is a bit more nuanced than that and you can get more information here, but that is the net effect of the ruling.
California is now (at least until further potential judicial action of some sort) a shall issue state. In the parlance of public policy discussions about the right of Americans to carry a concealed handgun, the term “shall issue” generally means that if a law abiding citizen would like to obtain a permit to carry a loaded firearm, concealed on their person, the government shall issue one. The right to do so comes from the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, contained in the Bill of Rights, that conveyed a right to keep and bear arms to Americans. The most significant part of this amendment, relative to the issue of carrying a firearm is the word bear. This conveys a right not simply to own a firearm, but to be able to actually carry it. In states where “shall issue” is the law, often there are some additional, but not particularly onerous requirements such as passing a background check, and training classes.
In 1986 fewer than one in ten Americans lived in a state where you could relatively easily get a concealed weapon permit (CCW) — as of January of 2014 now more than 2/3rds of Americans live in “shall issue” states. You can see that chart here.
From my perspective, this is a tremendously positive ruling and I am hopeful that ultimately the United State Supreme Court will take up this issue (as it has been ruled on differently in various Circuit Courts) and make it clear that a law-abiding American citizen is completely within their rights to carry a loaded firearm. This right goes to the core of why America is different than almost every other nation on this Earth. In this country, our founding documents are clear that our citizenry are endowed by God, and not by the government, with certain inalienable rights. The fact that in this country the people themselves should be able to be armed sends a clear message, straight back to our founding, about the relationship between Americans and their government. It is also an important affirmation about that the rights conveyed in the Constitution to the individual person, which cannot be taken away.
In at least one major county in California, even though the ink hasn’t really had a chance to dry on this court decision, Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens has announced that she will now allow an applicant for a CCW permit to list “self-defense” or “personal safety” as their reason for applying for a permit. OCSD does also require a background check, training, and a firearms course. While Orange County is the only county in California that I have read about that has already changed its policy in the wake of the court decision, you can be sure that others will not be too far behind. Kudos to Sheriff Hutchens for her quick adjustment in policy.
Sheriff Sandra Hutchens
So if you are from Orange County, and want to apply for a CCW permit, listing your “reason” as self-defense, you can get started right here. That said, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department does make it clear that, “If the Peruta v. County of San Diego panel decision is withdrawn by a decision to rehear the case en banc in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, or a stay is issued by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals or the United States Supreme Court, we may require applicants to supplement the “good cause” statement for the CCW License in accord with Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s Policy 218.”
If you are from another county, where that Sheriff has yet to react to this court decision, you may want to print out a copy of CCW Permit page on the OCSD website, and bring it to their attention.
On a closing note, the uber-liberal County/City of San Francisco, as of now, has issued exactly zero CCW permits. All requests are routinely turned down using this “good cause” requirement. Wonder how long it will take before the first permits start to be issued in the city by the bay?