Here is a sane and most-welcomed ruling from the most surprising source in the United States, a three-judge panel of the 9th District Circuit Court of Appeals. The issue is California's law regarding concealed weapons permits. Each individual county issues the permits, which require good moral character and a good cause for carrying concealed. What one county will accept, others will not.
The Court, after hearing oral arguments, ruled 2-1 that the existing law is too restrictive: "The right to bear arms includes the right to carry an operable firearm outside the home for the lawful purpose of self-defense," Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain wrote for the majority.
Now then, I'm going to tick off my brother members in the NRA. The NRA believes you should be able to carry concealed in every state without a permit. I disagree, and I have such a permit. The permitting requirements should be extremely liberal. I believe anyone who can legally own a gun should be able to carry concealed providing he or she can demonstrate that they have the ability to shoot, that they know the legal ramifications if they do shoot, and that they have had some training in using a concealed weapon for self-defense. For those reasons and those reasons only, I believe a CCW permit should be required.
California also current;y requires you to register any gun which you may wish to carry concealed; it must be listed on your permit and only three can be listed at any one time. Further, the guns you list must be examined by the sheriff's department to verify serial numbers, etc. I think that is an onerous and unnecessary requirement; you should be able to conceal-carry any sidearm which you may legally have in your possession.
This is an exciting ruling. It gives me hope that there are still some corners of sanity left in this country.
Illegitimi non carborundum.
That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.
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