Thread: CA. O.C. sheriff eases rules for carrying a concealed weapon

O.C. sheriff eases rules for carrying a concealed weapon

Local applicants seeking a permit to carry a concealed weapon now only have to say that they need one for self-defense or personal safety. A federal court decision paved the way for the loosening of rules for granting permits.

Background:
Want a concealed weapons permit? Ruling may make it easier

BY DAVID MONTERO / STAFF WRITER
Published: Feb. 19, 2014 Updated: Feb. 20, 2014 9:11 a.m.

FILE PHOTO: JEBB HARRIS, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

CONCEALED WEAPON PERMIT REQUIREMENTS

Cost for standard 2-year permit: $195.22
Must be full-time Orange County resident
Must past background checks
At interview, must have the following:
Birth certificate, valid California Driver's License, two recent passport photos, good cause statement, documents in support of request, military discharge papers (if applicable) and copies of two most recent utility bills to prove full-time residency
Completed Department of Justice application
Source: Orange County Sheriff's Department

The Orange County sheriff loosened requirements Wednesday for obtaining a concealed-weapons permit in light of a recent federal appellate court decision that deemed many urban counties in California to be overly restrictive in saying who can and can’t carry a concealed weapon.

Local applicants seeking a permit to carry a concealed weapon now only have to say that they need one for self-defense or personal safety. Previously, applicants were required to prove “good cause,” a standard that typically limited concealed weapons in Orange County to people who carry large sums of cash or valuables, or who could prove an existing mortal threat.

“Bottom line is the sheriff is going to abide by the law,” said Lt. Jeff Hallock, a spokesman for O.C. Sheriff Sandra Hutchens.

“Before the court’s decision, good cause was something that was evaluated by the sheriff. What she considers good cause may not be same as Los Angeles, Riverside or San Diego as good cause. But in looking at the decision, some of the subjectiveness is taken out of it.”

The Feb. 13 ruling by the 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was widely seen as the court’s attempt to unify the vast differences in how the state’s urban and rural countiesissue concealed weapons permits. Urban counties tended to be much tighter in issuing permits while rural counties were more expansive in interpreting an applicant’s “good cause” assertion.

San Diego County, which was the defendant in the case, hasn’t filed an appeal of the 9^thCircuit 2-1 decision, though the deadline is Feb. 27.

It’s unclear if the new rules in Orange County will lead to many more new concealed weapons.

Hallock said since the Feb. 13 ruling his agency has received more inquiries from Orange County residents presumably interested in getting a concealed weapon permit, but it’s too early to know if those inquiries have translated into more applications. He wouldn’t guess about how many applications might come to his agency after announcing the new rules.

It’s also unknown how the new rules would automatically lead more people receiving permits. Getting a two-year standard concealed weapon permit in California still requires passing a background check and a posting fee of $195.22, and completing 16 hours of class time on carrying and shooting weapons.

Lawrence Rosenthal, Chapman University law professor, said any sheriff’s department that is changing its procedures now is doing so voluntarily because the court decision isn’t final until 14 days after it was issued. He also said that San Diego can appeal the decision to the full 11-panel hearing of the 9^th Circuit Court or could seek a ruling at the U.S. Supreme Court. He said an appeal could drag the case out for another year.

He also described the three-member panel that issued the Feb. 13 ruling as “unusually conservative.” The two judges who voted to ease the restrictions were appointed by President George W. Bush and President Ronald Reagan.

The dissenter was a President Bill Clinton appointee.

Not all counties have opted to change their existing concealed weapons permits “good cause” guidelines.

On the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s website, applicants are forewarned that good cause “shall exist only if there is convincing evidence of a clear and present danger to life or of great bodily harm to the applicant, his spouse or dependent child which cannot be adequately dealt with by existing law enforcement resources.”

The San Diego County Sheriff also hasn’t changed its policy – though officials there said the issue is “under review.”

Hallock said that despite the Orange County Sheriff’s change in policy, they are cautioning applicants to be prepared to reapply if San Diego successfully appeals the case.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/s...ed-county.html

Sheriff gets $1.5 million to process gun permit applications

More from this story

• Sheriff to keep issuing concealed-weapon permits
• Concealed-weapon permit applications flood O.C. Sheriff's Department
• State, others plan to fight new concealed-weapons rules

By DAVID MONTERO / STAFF WRITER
Published: March 4, 2014 Updated: March 5, 2014 9:01 a.m.

Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens received $1.5 million from the Board of Supervisors Tuesday to help process a flood of applications for concealed weapons permits, though she didn’t believe it would be a regular annual request.

She said the initial enthusiasm expressed by applicants who want to obtain permits under new, looser guidelines, required her office to add 15 people to answer phones and conduct interviews for the process. She said the backlog was extending into 2015.

“I’m hoping we can get a lot done with this staff,” she said.
Hutchens request to the county came on the heels of a Feb. 13 decision by the 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that declared the guidelines used by Hutchens and other sheriffs in California’s urban counties were unconstitutional.

After that ruling, Hutchens eased the guidelines to allow applicants to only indicate a need for a permit for personal safety or self-defense.

Her decision has thrust Hutchens into the spotlight. Orange County is the only urban county in California to relax concealed weapon rules since the Feb. 13 decision, and Hutchens is sticking to the new rules even though the 9^th Circuit has issued a stay on its ruling.

In an interview with the Register Tuesday, she talked about the ruling and the department's policy shift.

Q: Did you agree with the 2-1 appeals court ruling that said the previous standard of “good cause” before issuing a concealed weapon permit violated a person’s constitutional right to bear arms?
A: It’s not a matter of whether I agreed with them or not because my opinion to me isn’t important. What is important to me is what the law says. They decided that there was a right to bear arms outside the home, or a place of business… And they felt that requiring good case was unconstitutional. That’s the decision, and that’s the decision I decided to follow since it’s the law to date.

Q: The court ruling didn’t compel you to change your previous “good cause” guidelines and neighboring county sheriffs – including the subject of the court case, San Diego County and Los Angeles County – have not broadened the opportunity for more applications. Why did you choose to do that?
A: I conferred with county counsel about that. And I also felt very strongly that when I came into office, and was going to review some of the applications that had been given by the prior sheriff, there was quite a disturbance about that… There was misperception that, gee, ‘She’s not going to issue CCWs, or is against CCWs.’ (But) that’s not the case. I just wanted to make sure we were following the existing law, which talked about having good cause. …
It wasn’t a matter of opinion with me; it’s a question of what the law is. … I felt it important to go ahead and start accepting applications and processing them under those new guidelines.

Q: Are you surprised your neighboring sheriffs haven’t followed suit?
A: I can’t say I’m surprised. But I could not have predicted what they might do because I think people have different thoughts about it. … Sheriffs have had differences of opinion or different polices (about) carrying concealed weapons.
I think you can see a distinct difference between urban areas and rural areas… In a rural area, where there is a high crime rate, there are sheriffs – and I would be one of them – who are more inclined to say ‘That’s good cause, and I’m going to let you have a gun to carry because there is an extended police response, and there is a lot of crime here.’ (But) in the urban areas, you’ll generally see (fewer permits) because it’s a high density population and faster police response. Those kinds of things enter into the thinking.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/c...-decision.html