California’s laws on Concealed Carry licenses are about as shady and corrupt as it gets. The majority of US states have laws akin to drivers licenses in that a person must meet a defined set of guidelines (such as required training, background checks, etc) before they can be issued a license to carry a weapon. CA’s laws are a little different in that they place the decision not on a set of specific requirements but on the personal whim of the Chief of Police or Sheriff. This practice breeds inequality and abuse by giving people who live in some parts of the state more state-wide rights than others and placing an insane amount of power in a single person’s hands. And since individuals have different motives, the policy from one county to another is vastly different. Is it any shock that people who have contributed to the campaigns for many of these people have a much higher chance of receiving one of these permits?
Luckily CA Assembly Member Knight is aware of this abuse and wants to stop it. He’s introduced a bill called AB 357 [PDF link to the bill] which removes the authority of the individual Sheriffs & Police Chiefs in favor of a clear set of statewide guidelines.
Whomever wants to be the next Governor of California had better get behind this. I can think of no greater civil rights decision currently facing California lawmakers.
Hopefully, this time they will choose to free the residents who elected them instead of their normal practice of attaching another set of chains.
Here is the link residents of the PRC will need.
Hell yes! I have links to the Committee on Public Safety which must approve it first.