Big Hello's from San Luis Obispo County

[bpmitche]

Hello all! I am a resident of the Central Coast's most central county, and have decided that this year is the year I get permits for all the fun things: I'm taking a motorcycle safety course in a few months, and have decided to pursue my CCW at the same time. I'll be doing a few months of research, finely honing a good cause statement, and so forth. Any and all help is appreciated, as are success stories from this area.

Again, big hellos and my preemptive thanks for the help!

[OCRancher]

Welcome!!! Read the FAQ for your County and then if anything is unclear, post (except for your good cause questions). I don't know if we have many members from your area here, but post your progress for all to learn from.

[Mad Geek]

Welcome to CalCCW, bpmitche.

I really enjoy the part of the state you reside when I've been there. Almost bought a house over there in '93.

There are a lot of resources here that will fill some of your research needs. Take special note of the FAQ section. A lot of questions will be answered there. And there are county specific FAQs as well.

When you are ready to start your application, we have several folks that are available to proof-read your GC statement if you desire, just please don't post it in a thread. It's for your peace of mind as well as the rest of the community.

Again, Welcome. We all look forward to hearing more from you.

[bpmitche]

Thanks for the welcome! I'm excited and eager, but trying to contain my enthusiasm enough to really figure out a good application strategy. I've read the rules, dont' worry, I'm not going to solicit good cause statements or put my drafts out there.

If I make any progress, I'll put it up, and if I find anything that hasn't been documented already, I'll put that up too. Thanks again!

[Mad Geek]

Great to have your here, and I can see you are exercising great restraint. A well laid out plan will achieve your ultimate goal with less bumps in the road.

One thing I'd like to see clarity on is:

Since you live in Atascadero, and they have their own PD, do they refer you to the SLO Sheriff automatically? I know our SLO County FAQ almost answers that, but then I looked at Atascadero's website and saw they have their own PD.

Just curious.

[bpmitche]

the SLO county FAQ is a little sparse, but I called Atascadero PD and spoke with one of their dispatchers, who kindly informed me that all CCW applications from people whose residence falls within city limits must apply to the Chief of Police, currently Chief John Couch. I'm not sure if the appellate jurisdiction belongs to Sheriff Hedges or not. Further, I attempted to get the same information from Paso Robles police dispatchers, but they did not have that information available. I was advised to contact the city business office, which I will probably do after I'm off work for the day.

I'm planning on moving in the very near future - probably into the unincorporated county land, but equally likely into Paso Robles city limits. I suppose there's even a remote possibility that I'll stay in Atascadero, but if Sheriff Hedges is as reasonable as he is described as being, I may prefer to move out into his jurisdiction *laugh*

[spc]

When I went to apply for my CCW here in the Eastern Sierra I started with the Co. Sheriff and was asked to give my local PD Chief the first right of refusal since I lived within the incorporated area. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact he did issue to me. The PD and Sheriff have slightly limitations on our permits, but I must live with the PD's rules, a small price to pay. The sheriff indicated he would issue to me if I met all of the qualifiers by the state.

Welcome aboard and best wishes for your success.

spc

[bpmitche]

Thank you all for the well wishing. My biggest concern is that San Luis Obispo County tends to be a jilting mix of ultra-conservatives socially and hyper-liberal everywhere else. So, I'm a little concerned that no matter how good my cause, I'll run into administrative balogna.

SPC, if you don't mind my asking, you mentioned that the local PD and the county SO have different limitations on your CCW; may I ask what those limitations are? i.e, "only valid in the city of xxxxx" or with a different renewal term? Apologies if I'm stepping on any toes.

[AMS MIKE]

In San Luis Obispo you apply to the Sheriff. Sheriff Pat Hedges does issue if the applicant has a "good cause" (please don't post your Good Cause publicly).

work on your personal good cause and email CCWInstructor (Greg@firearmstraining.com) and he will review it for you.

If you also have more questions on SLO. You may email CCWI as well. I know he has talked to Sheriff Hedges in the past and he can certainly answer your direct questions you may have.

Pick up an application and get the ball rolling

Good luck to you in the process and be safe.

Welcome to Calccw bpmitche

[bpmitche]

Originally Posted by AMS MIKE

In San Luis Obispo you apply to the Sheriff.

Do you mean in the city of San Luis Obispo? Because I contacted the city of Atascadero, as I mentioned above, and their dispatchers were kindly enough to suggest that I come by their office to pick up a CCW application for Chief John Couch.

Originally Posted by AMS Mike

Sheriff Pat Hedges does issue if the applicant has a "good cause" (please don't post your Good Cause publicly). work on your personal good cause and email CCWInstructor (Greg@firearmstraining.com) and he will review it for you.

Thanks for the encouragement - I hope that I have a fairly decent good cause, and as stated above I have read the rules. It's funny you should mentioned CCWInstructor, because I PM'd him just yesterday. He was very helpful so far.

I'm not quite ready to pick up the application - I want to do some more research, and really fine tune what I'm going to say, and what about. Plus, I'm sort of soliciting success stories from this area (minus their good cause, see above).

Thanks for the advice!

[spc]

Originally Posted by bpmitche

Thank you all for the well wishing. My biggest concern is that San Luis Obispo County tends to be a jilting mix of ultra-conservatives socially and hyper-liberal everywhere else. So, I'm a little concerned that no matter how good my cause, I'll run into administrative balogna.

SPC, if you don't mind my asking, you mentioned that the local PD and the county SO have different limitations on your CCW; may I ask what those limitations are? i.e, "only valid in the city of xxxxx" or with a different renewal term? Apologies if I'm stepping on any toes.

The local PD will only allow 2 sidearms on a permit whereas the Sheriff allows the generally accepted 3 sidearms listed on a permit if you wish to qualify with 3. With my PD permit we are required to qualify with the PD annually as well although it is a very reasonable process it is above and beyond the state requirements.

The process here, at least for me was very upfront, easy and done expeditiously. There are no restrictions on our permits nor are you stepping on any toes by your request for information. I am more than happy to share my experience and was very excited to obtain my permit so reasonably.

BTW. You can pick up your application any time without the need to turn it in immediately, but do be prepared with a well practiced verbal explanation of your GC just in case.

spc

[bpmitche]

Oh, whew. I only have one sidearm (yeah, yuk it up, I know ^_^), so that's not a huge deal for me. I like choices, but I've known what kinds of hardware I like for a long time, so it's never really been an issue.

I'm mostly holding off to even collect the application because I want to be able to walk in, clean, professionally dressed, looking respectable, and clearly and articulately relate a summary of my good cause should I be asked. I want the impression of my local police desk sergeant to be "wow, what a good candidate, I have got to tell the detectives about this one."

[spc]

Things usually work better when you have a 'plan'. It looks as if you have this well thought out.

spc

[THE Gimper]

Originally Posted by bpmitche

I've read the rules, dont' worry, I'm not going to solicit good cause statements or put my drafts out there.

Welcome, and thank you! Many don't bother to read the rules before they post.

[wcpassegai]

Welcome, and good luck getting your license.