SANTEE CITY COUNCIL TO SEND LETTER TO SHERIFF GORE REQUESTING CHANGE IN CONCEALED WEAPONS POLICY

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East County News Service

 

July 17, 2017 (Santee) – In a 5-0 unanimous vote, the Santee City Council has authorized Mayor John Minto to send an official letter from the council to San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore requesting a change in Gore’s internal policy regarding the issuance of concealed weapon permits. Specifically, the council is asking Sheriff Gore to accept self-defense or personal protection to fulfill California’s requirement of “good cause.” 

At the July 13 meeting, council members expressed disagreement with Gore’s consistent refusal to issue permits to law-abiding, trained citizens who qualify under California’s requirements for the permit to carry concealed firearms. The permits are commonly called “CCWs” (CCW stands for concealed carry weapon).

 

State law gives clear requirements for those seeking a CCW. Applicants are required to pass a criminal background check, complete a state-mandated curriculum on firearms safety and law, pay a fee and state a reason on the “good cause” portion of the permit application. While sheriffs in California counties have unfettered discretion in determining a “good cause” policy, many California sheriffs accept “self-defense” or “personal protection” to fulfill their “good cause” requirement, but not Sheriff Gore, noted council members.

 

A statement from Santee Mayor John Minto included in the Council’s agenda documents said the following: “I believe that San Diego County Sheriff William Gore currently implements a narrowly-defined policy and has not specifically defined the minimum requirements for what constitutes `good cause’ beyond the general categories of `protected law enforcement, personal protection (with documented threats), security and business.’ I am requesting the City Council authorize me to send a letter to Sheriff Gore requesting that he change the department’s internal policy to include `self-defense’ and-or `personal protection’ as sufficient `good cause.’ If Sheriff Gore decides not to amend his internal policies, the request will include that he specifically and unambiguously define the minimum requirements that constitute sufficient `good cause,’ and that the definition go above and beyond general categories in a manner that allows reasonable Santee and San Diego citizens to review the requirements and immediately be able to determine whether or not they meet the minimum standards.”

 

Prior to the 5-0 vote, Council members made several comments. “I worked in law enforcement for 29 years and I ran into all kinds of people during my career,” Minto said. “I have no problem with law-abiding, trained people having a CCW.”  

 

“We need to stand up for our Second Amendment rights,” said Council Member Rob McNelis. “Santee is a family community and protecting our families should be paramount.”

 

“We disagree with the Sheriff's policy,” said Council Member Brian Jones. “We hope that other cities join us with this request.”

 

Council Member Stephen Houlahan said, “We should have the right to protect ourselves.”

 

Speaking at the council meeting during public comment were four members of the San Diego County Gun Owners (SDCGO) PAC (http://sandiegocountygunowners.com/a diverse and inclusive 750-plus-member political action committee promoting Second Amendment rights. Among the speakers was Michael Schwartz, SDCGO executive director.

 

“Since the day he took office, the sheriff has been embroiled and mired in legal issues over his CCW policies,” Schwartz told council members. “Asking law enforcement to be everywhere all the time is not reasonable and, frankly, not the way a country of the self-governed should operate. Issuing concealed carry permits is a public safety issue. The ability for people to protect their life, their family, and their dignity when they leave their home should be a choice everyone can make.” 

 

San Diego County Gun Owners PAC (SDCGO) member Barbara Starr of Santee told council members, “I am a veteran who worked in law enforcement in the military so I have training in firearms. I applied for a CCW but I was denied because I was told I didn't have enough `good cause.' I currently work late-night shifts and I would like to be able to defend myself.”

 

After the Santee council meeting, SDCGO's Schwartz said, “I was very proud of the Santee Council members who authorized this letter to the sheriff. Voters need more elected officials to take a stand in favor of the Second Amendment and as California laws get worse and worse, voters expect it of their representatives.

 

“CCWs is the one issue I hear about all the time. I speak with hundreds of people every month, men and women, young and old, including many who do not own a gun but who believe in liberty and choice. It is time California reforms its gun laws and catching up with the rest of the nation on this civil rights issues.  

 

“It will be nice to see each of the 18 cities in San Diego County and the Board of Supervisors entertain a similar motion. As elected officials, at least have the discussion on whether or not you, as a council, want to stand up for civil rights and public safety.  We’ll see who is serious about a citizen's ability to protect themselves. The right to keep and bear arms is about protection of yourself, your family and your dignity.”

 

Gore, 69, has been San Diego County's top law enforcement officer since 2009, when the San Diego County Board of Supervisors appointed him to replace retiring Sheriff William Kolender. Gore was elected in 2010 and ran unopposed in 2014. He is planning to seek a third four-year term.

 

East County Magazine has contacted Sheriff Gore for his response on the Santee Council’s action and will publish his response if received.

 


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Comments

Article is about personal protection not gun safty

As of this morning SDPD just lost another 8 officers Conservatively guessing there may be 5000 Patrol men from many different departments county wide . San Diego county population of over 3 million , that gives each officer/ deputy 600 people to look after . The average offence is over within 20 seconds, As for me -Its my obligation to protect my family. As for all you anti gun people - take your chances with calling the authorities , I'm sure they arrive within 25-30 minutes . Carrying a gun is a constitutional RIGHT not to be infringed upon. Bill Gore has a real issue on his hands and refuses to address it like a real protector he swore to the San Diego community. Especially at the alarming rate officers and deputies are leaving for better paying jobs elsewhere. He needs to be replaced by someone with fresh vision for San Diego and its crime problem. Above all remember -People are the problem , Not the Guns.

New Sheriff

Yes, We need every city to send William a walking letter, I had a CCW for years and it got harder and harder to renew. So lets renew the San Diego Sheriff this guys got to GO !! Instance in El Cajon just proves if an officer can't even protect himself from bad guys , What make Gore and his deputies "THINK "they can protect the public ?

Fix this then let's talk about that!

https://www.google.com/amp/www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/amp/nearly...

No other affluent society has this problem to such an extreme. According to a recent study by the Children’s Defense Fund, the gun death rate for children and teens in the US is four times greater than in Canada, the country with the next highest rate, and 65 times greater than in Germany and Britain.

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Doesn't negate the facts.

A left slanted article taking Bill Whittle's commentary out of context doesn't negate the facts he presents. Perhaps the Harvard law article will help people's understanding of these facts: Do gun bans work.

Clarification.

"Left slanted?"  The piece above was based on a press-release from a pro-gun PAC in Santee on their victory before the Santee Council.

We asked Sheriff Gore for response and got none. My assistant posted this one, which I would have probably held and tried to research gun facts with info on both sides.

I appreciate Gene doing the research and posting facts put forth by the other side, ie, those concerned about gun violence and favoring restrictions.  There's not necesasrily a right or wrong on this issue, jsut two sides of the story largely dependent on one's point of view.

  There is no pleasing some folks -- even a press release from a conservative group is attacked as "left slanted" by people who obviously don't read what's posted.

Yes, left-slanted.

The article in question has nothing to do with Santee. I'll repost genecarp's article below. It is very left slanted and carries the liberal gun narrative that guns kill people (forgetting that home depot hammers kill more each year than rifles), and uses fear tactics to push an agenda. geneCarps article

Not so Troy

I simply expressed surprise that the Santee Council was supporting easier CCL's rather than or in conjunction with more required gun safety noting the number of deaths or injuries that occur in USA among children. You, Troy, started the political rant. I had my safety training that started in 4th grade in the 4H Club and then in the Military. Police Officers train regularly throughout the year and intensively. CCL holders aren't required to do that. What safety training is required to purchase and own a gun pray tell? That makes me a left Wing Progressive anti-gun nut? You are taking way too much for granted if you assume that. Should we just all assume that those who conceal carry won't miss and kill a bystander because they have a little extra, very little, training? I think the stats Miriam presented on Concealed Carry in Texas speak very well to the argument. I personally am glad that the Sheriff makes it difficult to get that license in San Diego County and after your Posts and revealing your state of mind in those Posts I am even more happy about that fact. When it comes to promoting and endorsing gun safety as the number one consideration in any argument, there is no both sides of the fence to present. There's only one side.

Wrong in so many ways

Suggesting I'm not a safe gun owner is proposterous. It is first and foremost on my mind and something I am very adament about anytime I'm out shooting with people. Fortunately my circle of friends are very well trained and very safe...and we shoot alot, sometimes daily. So tossing gun safety insults my way makes you look very ignorant. And back to the left slanted article(s) you are arguing isn't left slanted - tell me why it contradicts every article I've provided and depicts inaccurate numbers padded in favor of an anti-gun narrative?

No, the Public Health Watch piece has actual facts, like these:

 

Turns out a lot of those who want to do concealed carry are actually not just good guys wanting to defend themselves; many committed crimes including rape and murder:

 

What The Evidence Shows: Concealed Carry Laws Are Linked to Higher Violent Crime Rates. Research indicates that more permissive concealed carry laws are linked with higher rates of violent crime, not lower rates, and that many people with concealed carry permits are not “good guys with guns.”

A study released by Stanford last year took a look at the data and found clear links between allowing concealed carry without a permit and some types of violence. It was difficult to tie right-to-carry laws to violent crime, but researchers did find an estimated 8 percent increase in aggravated assault cases — and this is likely an underestimate, according to the researchers. “The totality of the evidence based on educated judgments about the best statistical models suggests that right-to-carry laws are associated with substantially higher rates of aggravated assault, rape, robbery and murder,” said the researchers, who described the analysis of such laws as a “vexing task.”

Moreover, research has demonstrated that those who obtain concealed carry permits can pose a threat to public safety — that they’re not always the “good guys” the NRA makes them out to be: A Violence Policy Center study found that Texas concealed handgun license holders were arrested for weapon-related offenses at a rate 81% higher than the general population of Texas aged 21 and older (offenses included 279 assaults, 671 unlawfully carrying a weapon, and 172 deadly conduct/discharge of a firearm). Between January 1, 1996 and August 31, 2001, Texas concealed handgun license holders were arrested for 5,314 crimes—including murder, rape, kidnapping and theft. And a 2007 investigation by the Florida Sun-Sentinel found that the state’s permit system had granted concealed carry permits to more than 1,400 individuals who pled guilty or no contest to a felony, 216 individuals with outstanding warrants, 128 individuals with active domestic violence restraining orders, and six registered sex offenders.

 

Other articles say the opposite.

The harvard study I posted and several other articles state nearly the opposite of your article. Common sense might suggest criminals don't carry if concealed carry is legal or not. If they are out raping and stealing they certainly aren't going to be concerned about illegally carrying a concealed weapon! But, by preventing law abiding citizens from defending themselves you are assuring they become victims. "When seconds count, police are only minutes away". murder rates drop as concealed carry permits soar

Let's look at people presenting those stats

Seems odd to me that that an entity like a City Council would be Championing more CCL's rather than better Gun Safety, especially with all the children killed or injured by guns every year. Then to assume I'm a Left Wing Progressive anti-gun nut and post links to those associated with neo-natzi's as a reply that discusses things totally unrelated to my Post seems equally odd. But hey, whatever gets you through the night! And thanks Troy for putting even more light on this!

https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2017/04/27/meet-nra-s-resident-academi...

Then a critique of their statements

https://www.google.com/amp/s/gunculture2point0.wordpress.com/2015/04/10/...

.and finally

https://www.thetrace.org/2017/07/handgun-owners-self-defense-no-formal-t...
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