CalCCW.com in the OCRegister

[AMS MIKE]

For those of you who don't get the Register, here is a scanned copy of the paper I bought this morning. Great Article written by Mr. Dillow.

CalCCW.com is here to help!

GDillow's CCW article in OC Register

Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Gun permits a loaded issue

GORDON DILLOW
Register columnist
GLDillow@aol.com

Comments 0 | Recommend 6
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.
Hutchens noted that before her appointment as sheriff, when she was a retired Los Angeles County law enforcement officer living in Dana Point, she had a legal right to carry a concealed weapon. But she added, "Did I carry a gun everywhere I went? No. I feel pretty safe in Orange County."
That's not the sort of thing that the Orange County "CCW community" wants to hear.
CCWs have long been a contentious issue, largely because under state law a county sheriff or local police chief can pretty much set his or her own rules as to who gets one and who doesn't. Years ago, Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates was criticized for allegedly handing out CCWs to political supporters (Carona has been accused of the same thing) while denying them to others. When Gates left office, fewer than 200 county residents had CCWs.
Carona vowed to change that when he ran for sheriff in 1998. In a politically popular move, he promised to make CCWs available to any citizen who met the requirements (pass an extensive background check, undergo firearms training and so on) and who could show a legitimate need.
As it turned out, even under Carona it generally wasn't enough to simply be a law-abiding citizen who wanted to carry a firearm for personal protection. Instead, to qualify for a CCW you had to fall into one of several specific categories.
Some of those categories were traditional for CCW holders: judges and prosecutors, reserve police officers, business people who routinely carry large amounts of cash or jewelry.
But Carona did ease the restrictions to allow CCWs to be issued to people involved in "transportation of valuable equipment" – which could be anything from computers to other firearms. In fact, about half of the 1,100 current CCW holders in Orange County are in that category.
The question now is whether Hutchens will decide that's not a legitimate "good cause" and pull those CCWs.
Greg Block of Huntington Beach thinks that would be a serious mistake.
Block is a certified firearms instructor and long-time CCW holder who helped draft the Carona-era CCW guidelines. He's also one of the founders of a website – www.calccw.com – that offers information on CCW issues and applications. He thinks Hutchens' stance on CCWs will be a big issue in the next election for sheriff.
"For most gun owners I know in Orange County, the only direct impact the sheriff's office has on them is CCWs," Block told me. "And that's how they're going to vote."
Now, I don't have room here to go into all the pro and con arguments about CCWs, and how they have worked in other states where access is much easier. (For the record, I have never applied for a CCW.)
Still, it seems to me that in light of the Supreme Court decision, public officials should be figuring out how to make firearms rules less restrictive rather than more restrictive for law-abiding citizens, especially those who have been thoroughly screened and trained.
Because the 2nd Amendment doesn't simply give law-abiding Americans the right to keep arms. With some reasonable restrictions, it also gives us the right to bear them.
CONTACT THE WRITER 714-796-7953 or GLDillow@aol.com __________________

[Trinity]

Great to see!

[MuscleGirl]

Good article!

But it sounds like the news for you OC CCWers is a bit bleak. More restrictive?!?! The writer hit the nail on the head with the last two paragraphs in regards to that! So, that is great to see.

[Ken_In_Colo]

Fantastic! A really good article and by a newspaper guy who isn't afraid to print the truth. I wonder how long before he gets axed?

[Glock Holiday]

I can now say "I know a somebody" because I know a guy.

[CalCCW03]

People, let your voices be heard. Flood the comment section.

[Glock32]

hit 'em hard!

[OC Newbie]

I thought it was a great article. The best part was when Greg weighed in and made it clear that if she goes overboard with cleaning house that she will have to face the consequences when it comes time to elect the next sheriff in 2010. He even did one better than that by inferring that part of the reason that Carona was elected was because of his stance on CCW's. Hopefully she will read the article and get to thinking "hmm, my actions could cause me not only bad publicity, protests, loss of votes, etc...but I should also look to how having a fair CCW policy helped Carona get elected. Maybe I should rethink this."

[X-ffdo]

I have no complaints about my county.
having said that, I think it is high time that the citizens of this great state start to push for a uniform, standardized set of guidelines for CCW issuance.
This system's record stinks! Period!
There is a lot of history to support this. Why is L.A., Ventura, San Berdo. San Diego, Orange County, So on...all different?
Bunk! That is discriminatory.!!!!!
The majority of states in this great nation have figured it out.
We can too!

[Ciderbite]

Im thinking the problem in california is the lack of a standard throughout the state. Every county has different standards on how they issue. Good news is the new sheriff is showing her hand and we now know the agenda till feb 2010. Im really sadened by that. I was hoping she would of countinued down the set standard already in place.

[Kestryll]

Very cool!

Nothing like positive press mentioning the site!

[THE Gimper]

Originally Posted by Kestryll

Very cool!

Nothing like positive press mentioning the site!

Thanks Kestryll. Keep up the good work on your end too.

[Akzl]

Email the link to everyone on your address list. Get others involved that do not have a CCW but care about our freedom. Ask that they post comments and or email the BOS. Even if only 10% of your address list responds, it'll make a huge difference.

[PHM]

Originally Posted by X-ffdo

I have no complaints about my county.
having said that, I think it is high time that the citizens of this great state start to push for a uniform, standardized set of guidelines for CCW issuance.
This system's record stinks! Period!
There is a lot of history to support this. Why is L.A., Ventura, San Berdo. San Diego, Orange County, So on...all different?
Bunk! That is discriminatory.!!!!!
The majority of states in this great nation have figured it out.
We can too!

Well, I feel very lucky to be in San Bernardino County, but if I have a complaint , its the long wait to get the permit; but at least we can get them.

[newshooterinca]

Originally Posted by Akzl

Email the link to everyone on your address list. Get others involved that do not have a CCW but care about our freedom. Ask that they post comments and or email the BOS. Even if only 10% of your address list responds, it'll make a huge difference.

This brings up a good point - so many people don't have a CCW, not because they were denied but because they don't know that CA CCWs even exist. When I moved here early last year the first two neighbors I met were gun owners and shooting enthusiasts and the only reason neither had ever tried for a CCW is because neither knew they even existed in California.

We need to do a better job of letting people know that CCWs are available here.