SAF Files Amicus Brief in San Diego County Gun Permit Case

[GreenStormCloud]

http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/325622


BELLEVUE, Wash., June 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Second Amendment Foundation has filed an amicus brief in a California case that challenges the constitutionality of discretionary gun permit rules adopted by officials in San Diego County, California.

The brief, submitted by attorney Alan Gura, is also on behalf of the Calguns Foundation and two Yolo County residents, Adam Richards and Brett Stewart, who are parties to a separate, but fundamentally related lawsuit. The case at hand, Peruta v. San Diego County, is now on appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

At issue in both cases is the broad discretionary authority exercised by California authorities under existing statute in the issuance of carry permits. Edward Peruta's lawsuit against San Diego County challenges the constitutionality of "good cause" criteria used as a basis for issuing or, more typically, denying a permit to carry. SAF has filed an appeal in its own case, Richards v. Prieto, in the Ninth Circuit.

"To be sure," Gura writes in his amicus brief, "(officials) are able to license the carrying of handguns in the interest of public safety. But they must not be in the business of judging people's character, or forcing individuals to prove a sufficiently good reason for wanting to exercise something that is their right."

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Gura is the same guy that won Heller and McDonald. No matter who wins here this will likely go to SCOTUS. A win by Gura would be devastating to the gun controllers in the remaining may-issue states.

[slackmaster]

1. The discretionary power of law enforcement on CCW permits is a relic of the distant past

A time when criminal records weren't centralized, and when the local chief of police or sheriff might actually know every adult personally.

[damntexdem]

2. Paying attention to public safety and to professional judgment is a relic of the past.

Idiotic pushing of guns on society is the wave of the horrible future.

Good God, let's pull out the relics and revere them again.

[gejohnston]

4. who is doing the pushing?

Since these laws in CA were written by right wingers to keep Pinkerton thugs safe from defending workers, and to disarm the Black Panther Party, why should liberals support them?

[slackmaster]

9. Professional judgment is fine if the professionals have enough information to make good decisions

In this case, they don't. The decision on who should get a CCW permit is best left in the hands of individuals, with OBJECTIVE tests to determine who qualifies (i.e. who is prohibited by law from getting a permit).

[PavePusher]

12. Yeah, let's deny Civil Rights on an arbitrary, random basis...

depending entirely on where you live and how the Sheriff's breakfast is sitting...

No, thank you.

[spin]

19. Yup, a sheriff in Mississippi might have a negative view of a black person asking for a carry permit

but give one to Bubba in a heartbeat.

[Euromutt]

31. Never mind Mississippi, how about Sacramento County, California?

The guy who was sheriff ten or so years ago, Lou Blanas, refused to accept applications from people who lived in the incorporated city of Sacramento. By an amazing coincidence, the city has a significantly higher concentration of both blacks and Hispanics than the unincorporated territory of the county.

While undersheriff, Blanas also issued a CCW permit to some building contractor whose only "good cause" was that he'd donated generously to the sheriff and undersheriff's campaign funds. Said contractor, James Colafresco, was subsequently arrested after he got into a drunken argument outside a bar and flashed his carry piece at his interlocutor. Colafresco was charged with "disturbing the peace" and fined $100.

[gejohnston]

30. May issue has never been about public safety or professional judgement in the US

All about keeping them from "those people" who are not rich or connected regardless of need or qualification. If it were professional judgement, Don Imus would not have one of the few NYC ones.

[Euromutt]

32. Nor would Sean Penn have received one of the few California ones

I mean, we are talking about a guy who, in the 1980s, was notorious for having "poor impulse control," to put it euphemistically. I mean, if you're going to refuse someone a permit on the basis of executive "discretion," you'd hope Sean Penn would be such a person. But no.

[Glassunion]

35. Poor impulse control?

How about assault charges and parole violations?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=118&topic_id=305209

[sharesunited]

3. Carrying is a "right?" Nah. Be glad you can keep one (1) repeat one (1) in your house.

[GreenStormCloud]

5. You don't write the laws. I have several in the house and carry two.

My wife carries one. But your posts are always good for a laugh.

[gejohnston]

6. This giant gun store

you and Jpak own together, do you do special orders? There is this rifle available in Canada, but not here. Can you get it imported for me? http://www.canadaammo.com/product.php?productid=12&cat=0&page=1

[DWC]

7. Sweeeet !!! n/t

[oneshooter]

13. That costs as much as my OOW BAR !

http://ohioordnanceworks.com/

[spin]

8. Gee, I have many more than one and there is not a damn thing you can do about it ...

That's what I am thankful for.

[sharesunited]

10. Is that what Heller and McDonald hold?

[ProgressiveProfessor]

14. Yup

[spin]

17. I don't exactly get what you are asking ...

please explain.

[sharesunited]

21. The 2A guarantees your imaginary right to maintain an arsenal?

[GreenStormCloud]

23. Yes, it does. It is a real right, not imaginary.

And soon the right to "bear arms" will be established too.

[spin]

25. Point out to me anything in the Second Amendment ...

that limits the amount of firearms I can own.

In case you have forgot the Second Amendment states:

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

[sharesunited]

29. I mainly just asked if anything in the Heller or McDonald decisions

suggested that there was an imaginary right to possess as many guns as you wanted to fill your house up with.

I know Heller expressly stated that walking around with a gun should not be presumed to be protected.

[oneshooter]

33. No, to have and maintain a "arsenal" requires a permit from the Govt.

However there is no permit needed to own and maintain a "armory".

Arsenal= place where weapons are built or produced

Armory= place where weapons are stored or kept

Oneshooter
Armed and Livin in Texas

[S_B_Jackson]

27. What Heller and MacDonald both held is that the right proscribed by the 2nd Amendment

is a right of the individual citizen held as an a priori condition and not granted by the US Government. Instead, the US Government - and by extension the several states and their subordinate governmental entities (i.e. counties, municipalities, etc) - is prohibited from infringing upon that pre-existing right of the citizenry unduly and the exercise of this right by the citizenry is NOT dependent upon participation in a militia.

They type of arbitrary and capricious limits which you propose are not countenanced under either decision.

[ileus]

20. I'm sad I've only bought one so far this year.

A single shot 308....

I still want a 6.8 AR and a 357

[lawodevolution]

11. This is why we have separation and limitation of powers.

It works very well. I own lots of guns and no individual in this country, not even the president, can do anything about it. Only I can make the decision to sell them.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

15. Self defense certainly is a right

Private ownership of firearms is a progressive value. Those who oppose it are neither liberal nor progressive

[sharesunited]

24. People shot dead by gunfire have ALL of their GENUINE Constitutional rights terminated

with extreme prejudice.

No way can that be reconciled with some claimed right to possess guns and ammo.

[spin]

26. So therefore a woman who shoots and kills a rapist ...

has terminated his Constitutional rights.

Do you seriously believe that the rights of the criminal are more important than the lives and health of their victims and that self defense should be against the law.

I would hate to live in your idea of Utopia because I don't support violent criminals.

[sharesunited]

28. For some reason (agenda, I guess) you are ignoring the innocent slain.

Shall we take a field trip to the morgue to inquire who has been shot and killed today?

[spin]

34. For some reason (agenda, I quess) you are ignoring the innocent saved ...

and always have.

I don't ignore the tragedies caused by the criminal misuse of firearms and in fact would like to see the number of such incidents decrease.

At the same time two people in my immediate family used firearms in legitimate self defense to stop an attack. I also know three other people who stopped a potential attack because they displayed a firearm. None of these incidents resulted in anyone being shot. I am convinced that FAR more good has come from allowing people to legally carry concealed than this activity has caused. Crimes have been stopped.

My solution to the criminal misuse of firearms is to enforce existing laws and to improve the NICS background check by imputing more data (including the names of people adjudged to have serious mental problems) and inputting this data on a quicker basis. I would also like to see the NICS background check opened up for all private sales.

I also believe that if someone in involved in the straw purchase of a firearm that is used to commit a crime, they should be charged as an accessory to the crime.

I also favor legalizing some drugs such as marijuana in order to take much of the profit motive out of dealing drugs. The drug gangs that survive should be treated as terrorists (which they are).

[sharesunited]

36. Spin, you are all right with me. I will push the restrictions and you will push back.

[rrneck]

22. LOLOLOL

I'm not even an "enthusiast " and I've got more than that

[ProgressiveProfessor]

16. The capriciousness of may issue environments needs to end

[spin]

18. Exactly because it can often be based on racism and political connections. (n/t)