Sacramento County letter and response.

[GunSlut]

THE LETTER

Sheriff,

I was listening to you on the A&G show for the last two days and I was hoping you could help me with something. (Great show by the way)

You had two different callers call with questions about CCWs. You responded that you support the 2nd Amendment and that your department issues CCWs. I am trying to reconcile these statements with the reputation and practice of the Sac Sheriffs department.

Your department does not issue CCWs, in fact I don’t think you have issued a new CCW since you became Sheriff- maybe a few to government employees and agents but none to regular citizens. The firearms training instructors listed on your website have stopped offering training because of the practices of your department. The reputation of the Sac Sheriff is that the department is “NO ISSUE” on par with San Francisco. The number of permits issued in Sac County is about 500 and declining. This is an issuance rate of 0.03%. If the county was at the national issue rate of 2% for “Shall issue” states (and some counties in CA) the number of permits would be closer to 27,500, quite a difference if you ask me. Is this your intent or are the people you have delegated to this task being more strict than you intend? As far as people applying, most people don’t even bother because they know they will be denied. Because of this, if you are trying to use the number of requests you currently receive as a barometer for the pent up demand for CCWs you do not have a valid baseline.

I have heard comments made that limited CCW issuance is a public safety issue, but this has been disproven by 20+ years of history in “Shall Issue” states. I am licensed in 30 states to carry a concealed weapon, it is only in the state that I live where it is almost impossible to get a permit. What is scary is that the crime rate in CA is higher than most other states. By your own admission, a LEO can not be there to protect me and in fact GC 845 exempts LEO and governments from protecting me. GC 820-821 exempts governments and CLEO from liability when issuing permits, so I struggle with why the Sac County Sherriff’s department refuses to allow people the means to protect themselves. I am not talking about in the home, that is not a problem, I am talking about when I have to go out in public and interact with meth-heads, Mexican narco gangs, South Sac Gang bangers, general thugs etc.

This situation has gotten to the point that people are fleeing Sacramento county and the state of California by the 1000’s because of the regressive nature of the self-defense laws in this state. Do you ever wonder why the population of El Dorado and Placer counties are growing while the Bay area counties are shrinking? I myself am looking to move and take my taxes to a county that is more trusting of it’s citizens and at least affords me a reasonable chance at self-defense.

Sheriff, I am looking for a reason here and I can’t come up with a good one. The only reasons I can come up with that the Sac County Sheriff does not issue more CCWs are distrust of citizens, power issues, control issues, etc. It has nothing to do with Public Safety or personal responsibility. I would hope that as the economic crisis accelerates and crime skyrockets you have a change of heart and let people obtain the means to defend themselves.

Do I expect it? No – but one can only hope.
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THE RESPONSE

The reply from the Sherriff’s office

I was asked to respond to you regarding your inquiries relative to the Sheriff’s issuance of CCW permits. First, your assertion that Sheriff McGinness does not issue permits is erroneous; he has issued several dozen permits since he has taken office. Although he has final authority over whether to grant or deny an applicant, he has empanelled a CCW committee that reviews each application. He has provided guidelines to that committee on criteria to consider in granting or denying an application. Factors to consider in granting the application are if the applicant is a business owner/agent who transports large sums of money or valuable commodities; individuals who are engaged in fugitive recovery, executive protection, and the like; individuals who have demonstrated a need or articulated threat; and former law enforcement officers or other persons who have received substantial training in weapons handling. Conversely, there are a number of criteria that are weighed AGAINST granting a permit, such as certain prior arrests or convictions, evidence of substance abuse, etc.

It is easy to look from the outside and determine for yourself what the Sheriff should or should not do with regard to CCW permits. However, that responsibility is vested squarely with the Sheriff and as with any significant responsibility, it must be tempered by a concomitant responsibility and restraint. It would be a simple matter to simply grant each CCW application, but the community would not be best served by such a practice. Further, any internal practice must withstand scrutiny from the public, the media, and the courts (the Department has been sued twice regarding CCW issuance since the Sheriff took office).

Finally, as for your assertion that the number of applicants cannot be used as a barometer for the effectiveness of the CCW process, I’m not sure what other measure to use. It is purely speculative to opine what might be the outcome of potential applicants, and I would encourage anyone who feels they have a need to apply—including you, since I was unable to determine that you ever applied for a CCW permit with this Department under that name.

While I recognize that this may not satisfy your concerns relative to the issuance of CCWs in Sacramento County, I hope it at least gives you some insight into the process.

Captain Scott Jones

Assistant to the Sheriff
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