LASD Sheriff Lee Baca courtesy calguns Facebook

The Calguns Foundation today won a handgun carry lawsuit against the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Lee Baca, indicating that the LASD must “consider the applications of all persons seeking a CCW permit in the first instance without requiring any applicant to first seek a CCW permit with his/her local police chief or city.” As indicated in that statement, the standard practice of the LASD was to require applicants to first obtain a carry permit from their local jurisdiction before the LASD would even consider their application. The plaintiffs claimed that this resulted in an effective ban on handgun carry permits in Los Angeles County. Unfortunately . . .

this decision doesn’t just mean it’s open season on permits, only that it forces LASD to begin accepting and processing applications. The requirements for the carry permit are still subjective, requiring that the applicant show “good cause for the issuance of the license” and be of good moral character. But being able to argue your case is better than it not being heard at all, so it’s a step in the right direction. Make the jump for the Calguns press release and a link to the decision.

ROSEVILLE, CA — In a decision released today that forces the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to begin accepting and processing handgun carry license applications, Judge Deirdre Hill said that LASD must “consider the applications of all persons seeking a CCW permit in the first instance without requiring any applicant to first seek a CCW permit with his/her local police chief or city.”

The case, titled Lu v. Baca, was filed in 2012 by California-based gun rights organization The Calguns Foundation and a number of individual plaintiffs seeking to overturn an unlawful LASD policy that functioned as a de facto ban on handgun carry licenses for Los Angeles County residents.

“This decision means that all Californians need not jump through more hoops than those required under state law in order to apply for a handgun carry license and exercise their Second Amendment rights,” explained Gene Hoffman, the group’s Chairman.

According to the Foundation’s executive director, Brandon Combs, the victory represents an affirmation of its legal strategy and presents new opportunities to advance gun rights in the Golden State.

“It’s long past time for sheriffs and police chiefs to adhere to the same laws they swore an oath to enforce, starting with the Constitution,” said Combs. “Hopefully they’re getting the message that our fundamental rights are not open to debate. We’ll keep filing lawsuits if that’s what it takes to restore Second Amendment freedoms in California.”

“I’m very pleased by the outcome,” said Charles Hokanson, the plaintiffs’ Long Beach-based attorney. “It is always positive to see the rights of law-abiding people vindicated as they were today in this decision.”

Earlier this month, CGF published two comprehensive reports on handgun carry licenses in the state, which can be viewed or downloaded for free at www.calgunsfoundation.org/carry.

Based on data from the California Department of Justice and other government sources, the Foundation’s reports show an increase of nearly 30,000 handgun carry licensees since it began efforts to make California “shall-issue” in May of 2009, when it and the Bellevue, Washington-based Second Amendment Foundation filed the first “right to carry” lawsuit in the nation since the United States Supreme Court’s historic D.C. v. Heller decision in 2008. CGF noted that it is currently awaiting a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in its federal Second Amendment carry lawsuit Richards v. Prieto, the filings for which can be found on CGF’s online Wiki at www.bit.ly/richards-v-prieto.

As reported on the Foundation’s website, CGF’s Carry License Sunshine and Compliance Initiative uses grassroots-funded research, publications, and litigation to:

  • Acquire and publish objective carry license statistics for evaluation and public scrutiny
  • Audit and publish the policies and practices of California’s licensing authorities
  • Acquire and publish carry license application records and other public documents that are or indicate the actual practices of California’s licensing authorities
  • Help carry license applicants through the maze of state laws and local rules
  • Force California’s licensing authorities to comply with state laws, legal precedent, and the United States Constitution

The Lu v. Baca decision can be viewed or downloaded at http://www.calgunsfoundation.org/?p=1828.

Those wishing to help make California “shall-issue” and support carry license reform can make a tax-deductible donation to The Calguns Foundation at www.calgunsfoundation.org/donate.

The Calguns Foundation (CGF) (www.calgunsfoundation.org) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that serves its members, supporters, and the public through educational, cultural, and judicial efforts to defend and advance Second Amendment and related civil rights. Supporters may visit www.calgunsfoundation.org/donate to join or donate to CGF.

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39 COMMENTS

  1. It’s progress. Good work CalGuns. Keep up the fight. Seeing regulations fail in California makes me happy, Cali’s laws are too often held up by anti-gunners as some kind of gold standard.

    • True but…
      It’s progress like a frog in the stew pot getting the cook to turn down the heat from HI to 9….

      • Even that’s progress I’ll take! Here in California, it’s a miracle when things don’t get worse.

  3. BTW – the judge here is an African-American female appointed by former Gov Gray Davis back in 1999. She is also the former LAPD Inspector General.

    Bam! Colion Noir needs her on his new show.

    • Hmm. I cannot help but wonder if the judge in the case gave Mr. Baca a private heads-up so he could skate before any fallout?????

      • He IS escaping legal issues, but those are over much broader corruption issues in the department and not this case in particular.

        • Yup. 18 of his officers are under federal indictment for various offenses in different departments.

        • I’m not sure if I have previously mentioned Baca being a dirtbag. I seriously pissed off some of the LASO brass, who are now silent about the matter. Hmmmm…

      • How’d you piss them off, Accur81? If you don’t mind me asking. If you can’t or don’t want to say, that’s fine.

        Keep up the good fight!

    • Scuttlebut is that Tanaka is the preferred candidate to replace him. Reportedly much more CCW friendly.

    • inteligence 1, stupidity to numerous to count.

      but i will take a small victory where i can get them.

  8. A small step, but an important one. For those not familiar with the law in California, the sheriffs of the various counties are authorized to issue CCWs; however, the sheriffs may delegate that function to various city police departments. What the LASD did, as part of a concerted run around for CCW applicants, was to require a filing with the city first, and then with the SD if that app was denied. Of course, the denial by one agency (the City) was grounds for a denial by the Sheriff’s Office, meaning you apply twice, pay twice, and get denied twice. The app alone is $150, and that does not include the 16 hrs of training or the (theoretically discretionary) requirement of a mental health exam. Add to that, LAPD has been sued TWICE for failing to post information or provide copies of applications, AND the LAPD Chief of Police has never seen a CCW app that he could not deny. (The Chief is of the opinion that more guns =ore gun crime, and therefore it is in the public interest to deny applications for permits. He, or the officer responsible for reviewing applications, testified under oath that he/they knew of no studies supporting their belief; it must be just plain “common sense.”) Parenthetically, as of September 2011–the last year for which I have stats–there were exactly 220 civilian CCWs issue for all of Los Angeles county, including every city within the county that separately issued such licenses, out of a population of 7.5 million.

    • I wish someone could get a list of the people who have those licenses … it would be really condemning for Los Angeles if every one of those licensees were mega wealthy and/or in political office.

      • There have been several articles about the wealthy and politically connected being “rewarded” with CCW’s whilst the common man with no criminal background was denied because their lives were not deemed valuable enough to be allowed the right to carry. Sad.

  12. As reported on the Foundation’s website, CGF’s Carry License Sunshine and Compliance Initiative uses grassroots-funded research, publications, and litigation to:

    Acquire and publish objective carry license statistics for evaluation and public scrutiny
    Audit and publish the policies and practices of California’s licensing authorities
    Acquire and publish carry license application records and other public documents that are or indicate the actual practices of California’s licensing authorities
    Help carry license applicants through the maze of state laws and local rules
    Force California’s licensing authorities to comply with state laws, legal precedent, and the United States Constitution

    This NEEDS to be done in New Jersey and other “may issue” states.

  13. I’ve sent a lot of money in support of this legal challenge. I hope this movement helps to set CA back on the right track.

  14. We in California are very happy with this win. It is a small win but in this state, anything that is not more infringement on our rights is cause for celebration. The Calguns Foundation does very good work and we really appreciate the non-Californians that donate to it. Even though a lot of free-staters deny it, we are all in this mess together. What incubates here will eventually infect the free states so better to kill it with fire here than let is spread more than it has to formerly free states like Colorado.

  18. Has NOBODY noticed what that guy is throwing onto the pile in the photo? Come on people, I expect better from you!

  19. This fight isn’t about freedoms or rights, it is about politicians who want power.

    Anti-gun laws and Gun free zones, KILL

    Politicians that pass these laws, disarming VICTIMS, KILL

    The anti-gun voters, KILL

    i.e. the Voters are the KILLERS by proxy! They kill the children and the victims!

    Change the crowd thinking and win the battle on violence! They have had their chance, now lets show them what real and effective measures can do!

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