[Tim Currie]

Sweet, my CCW renewal just came in the mail, and I live in Sacramento of all places! (well really a suburb, Roseville, different county....).

Came very fast too, they always say it might take 3 months blah blah, then 3 or 4 weeks later its in the mail.

Thanks Jim for the help, even though it was just as easy as in Butte County :)

[cool45auto]

Congratulations!:D

[Kentucky Rifle]

Just curious.
Other people seem to have so much difficulty in CA. How do you slide by so easily? I wish Kentucky CCDW's came in the mail. Gotta go *downtown* and UNARMED to the Sherriff's Dept. Hey, no complaints! At least we've got CCW.

KR

[Mute]

It is a myth that only the rich and powerful can get CCWs in CA. Truth is, some counties are much more friendly to the idea than others. Most of the rural counties, I'd say, it's almost standard procedure to issue when requested, after going through the proper procedures.

[thefitzvh]

i'm thinking of trying in san diego... am I wasting my time?

James

[SanduneCC]

I'm just an Average Joe in Kern county with a card. :neener:

[Jim March]

Glad it worked out like I predicted :).

I advise people all the time in private EMail on this subject...most of the time, I can't talk about it at all for confidenciality reasons.

[pittspilot]

Well, we will soon see how easy it is in my county. Our group is almost ready to go.

We'll let you know how it goes, Jim.

[Snorkel Bob]

Tulare county aint bad either
I got mine when I turned 21

[ENC]

Waiting five weeks and counting here in Oklahoma

[cosmos7]

Jim, I know you're busy, but did you get my email [Continuing SLO CCW battle] a while back regarding my situation and the SLO Sheriff? I'd really appreciate some advice on how to proceed...

[Psssniper]

Jim
Wondered if you received my email also?
Sorry to bug!

[Jim March]

Psssniper: check your forum mail.

Cosmo7: I haven't gotten any EMail from the address that you've got listed in the THR system. Can you re-send please?

There was a point a couple weeks ago where my mail was bouncing...I thought it was fixed?

[DJ E.]

Jim, sent ya a PM...;)

[Hot brass]

Congrats.
In my small town for renewal you go to the local sherriff office the little old lady asks for a check, finger prints you and makes out your new CCW while you wait. Huh, SandduneCC:p

[kentucky bucky]

I can't believe that Ohio doesn't have a CCW and Kalifornia does!! :scrutiny:

[10-Ring]

Congrats! It's encouraging to see people destroying the myth that CCW's are extinct in CA!

[DontShootMe]

I will agree that it really comes down to your county sheriff.

[striker3]

I also am in San Diego County and wanted to know how hard it is to get a CCW. I'm in Vista.

[Dilettante]

Once you have your CCW, is it good throughout California, or only in the county where you got it?

[Hot brass]

Read your CCW! It will state what it is good for. Carry at certain times, certain places, or State wide:D

[50 Freak]

Actually I got my CCW from Siskyou Co, CA. Had to wait 5 months and paid $200. But well worth it.

Getting a CA CCW isn't impossible. It is just takes a little bit of jumping through hoops.

But if your in the 3 major cities, it is nearly impossible

[Black Majik]

3 major cities as in SD, LA, and SF?

Hopefully Orange County isn't in there. :)

[twoblink]

The 3 Major headaches err.. I mean cities is probably SD,LA,SF..

"Low-Cal, So-Cal, and No-Cal" by local lingo...

[Skunkabilly]

Blackmajic, count your blessings you're in Orange County :)

Well you could be in Arizona, but OC is good considering you're in California.

[CAPTAIN MIKE]

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department is very reasonable and professional about the whole thing. Their licensing division handles it, but it's up to you to get the CCW training certificate before you apply. The certification must be within 30 days of your application.

The first time takes the longest (verifying your letters of reference and criminal background check) but renewals are a fairly routine matter. CCW permits for Regular Guys are 2 years in length.

I'd contact Ironsights range up in Oceanside CA to make arrangements for a class or the San Diego Tactical Shooters. They are both very helpful.

Good Luck!!

[Carnitas]

Congrats Tim, and God Bless Sherrif Bonner. He's run un-opposed as long as I can remember but if someone ever decides to challange him I'll be giving till it hurts for his campaign.

[Jim March]

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department is neither "reasonable" or "professional" when they openly violate state law on their application procedures.

State law allows the agency to charge an up-front non-refundable fee of $20 to have your "good cause" evaluated. ONLY once that is out of the way should any other fees apply.

What San Diego does is called "front-loading the fees". They want you to place a very expensive and time-consuming bet that your "good cause" will be "good enough" - and this without giving much clue as to what they consider to be "good cause":


Good Cause is the set of circumstances which distinguishes the applicant from the mainstream and causes him or her to be placed in harm's way. Good cause is NOT a simple fear for one's safety. Applicants applying because of business reasons will be required to demonstrate they are in active, legitimate business. Employees applying because of job duties must provide validation of those duties. Persons applying because of threats or personal protection needs must submit copies of police reports, restraining orders or other documentation substantiating their concerns.


source:

http://www.sdsheriff.net/mgt_serv/licensing/ccw.html

Upshot: the sheriff's office is making sure that only people able to pay a couple hundred bucks up-front for training WITHOUT any solid idea as to whether or not they'll score will try and apply. This sort of economic barrier leads to "economic class discrimination" which in turn inevitably causes racial disparity in issuance even barring any overt racism on the part of the agency.

Given that the CCW system is founded in historical racism, which has been determined by the courts (http://www.equalccw.com/practicalrace.html and esp. People vs. Rappard discussed therein), the SD Sheriff should be particularly concerned about such economic/class/racial barriers to permit issuance.

They should also be concerned with following the law.

Now, I've been told by numerous SD County locals that most of the CCW permits issued in this county are so limited in terms of "carry only while taking the day's business reciepts to the bank" or similar that they're borderline useless. It is also widely reported that an unwritten standard of "if he's got a business license, issue him at least something" exists.

While "business licenses" would be at least an objective standard, it's not followed 100% of the time and worse, it's undocumented in their policy manual. So that leads some people to go through the expense and time of a training class without ever having a prayer of actual approval.

This is NOT LEGAL.

That SD Sheriff policy manual also discusses "good character":


Good moral character is verified by a background check based upon fingerprints and information submitted by the applicant. Personal reference letters, written by friends or acquaintances of the applicant, are requested for this purpose. Letters cannot be accepted if they are written by the applicant, are form letters, are written by out-of-County residents or family members. References will be contacted by Department staff so letters must be legibly signed, dated within 30 days of the application, include a daytime phone number and state that the writer is aware the applicant is requesting a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

Law enforcement-related applicants are not required to submit reference letters, but must submit a letter from their agency and present their law enforcement identification.


OK, 'cept for Penal Code 12051(3)(c):


(C) An applicant shall not be required to complete any additional application or form for a license, or to provide any information other than that necessary to complete the standard application form described in subparagraph (A), except to clarify or interpret information provided by the applicant on the standard application form.


So asking for letters of reference is an illegal act by the SD Sheriff's Department.

If this agency refuses to obey California law on the issuance side, county residents have no particular moral duty to obey the same set of laws on the carry side.

The sole reason I don't pack illegally myself is that I want to maintain standing in court to cram the corrupt, illegal and racist actions of sheriffs and chiefs across the state back down their donut-glaze-lined throats by judicial order.

[Gordon Fink]

References will be contacted by Department staff so letters must be legibly signed, dated within 30 days of the application, include a daytime phone number and state that the writer is aware the applicant is requesting a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

So much for concealed meaning concealed.

Jim, you’re saying the reference letters are not required by law?

~G. Fink