On Feb. 27, California's attorney general announced she would appeal this month's 2-1 ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that allows counties to grant concealed carry permits to anyone of good moral character who desires to carry a concealed gun for self-protection. The announcement by AG Kamala Harris followed last week's decision by San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore, the named defendant in the case initiating the ruling, that he would not to appeal the 9th Circuit panel's ruling.
Previously, California concealed-carry permit applicants were required to demonstrate "good cause," as well as good moral character, to carry concealed handguns, while leaving the interpretation up to each city and county. The Court's Feb. 14 ruling requires local governments to issue permits to anyone of good moral character who desires to carry a concealed firearm for self-protection. In the past, permits were typically limited in to persons who carried large sums of cash or valuables or who could prove an existing mortal threat.
In her announcement this week, Harris contended local law enforcement should decide who can and cannot carry a concealed weapon based on "good cause" or working in a dangerous job. In the days following the panel's ruling, the Orange County Sheriff's Department announced it would begin issuing permits to residents who simply cite a desire for personal safety or self-defense. And this week, it was reported that more than 500 applications were received by the department in the past 10 days — roughly the total number of applications received for all of 2013, according to OCSD Lt. Jeff Hallock.
Hallock said Orange County may be faced with hiringadditional temporary staff to help process its flood of concealed weapons permit applications. A similar surge in concealed carry applications is taking place in Ventura County, where the sheriff's department has also eliminated its "good cause" requirement, as specified in the court decision.
"We're certainly preparing for an influx of more applications," Capt. Don Aguilar, spokesman for the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, told FoxNews.com this week. "We're getting calls from people who have questions about this."
