Workers clean Smith & Wesson .357 magnum revolvers recently rented by customers for target practice at the Los Angeles Gun Club on December 7, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. ; Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
The right to carry concealed weapons outside the home is under scrutiny today as the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reviews a San Diego restriction on the practice.
In the Golden State, citizens can only carry concealed weapons in public if they have a permit to do so. Permits can only be given to people who complete a training course, demonstrate “good moral character,” and establish “good cause.”
Although state law generally discourages concealed-carry permits, local authorities are allowed to create restrictions around their distribution to regulate the permitting process. The case came forward when a former police officer, Edward Peruta, filed a suit with San Diego County after he was denied a concealed-carry permit when authorities concluded that he did not establish “good cause.”
While the case is unlikely to reach the Supreme Court, gun rights and gun control activists are heatedly debating the issue, each pushing for their version of where the line should lie. A ruling could ostensibly affect concealed-carry permit restrictions throughout the state of California.
What restrictions should be put on concealed-carry permits? Is California’s subsidiarity in the matter appropriate? How will the court’s ruling affect the debate?
Guests:
Mike McLively, staff attorney for the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which has filed several amicus briefs on the defendant's side
Sam Paredes, Executive Director of Gun Owners of California