Calguns Foundation Blog

Friends,

Here we are in January of 2012 (where did last year go?), and things are quite wonderfully picking up right where we left off at the end of 2011. In the spirit of resolutions and looking forward to what the future holds for the ability to exercise your fundamental right to carry firearms for self-defense, we thought some carry license guides and information, as well as an update on Carry License Sunshine & Compliance Initiative actions, would be of particular interest to you.

Earlier today, Calguns Foundation filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Calfornia's 10 day "waiting period" (which is really just a dressed-up 10-day ban on law-abiding gun owners' ability to exercise their fundamental right to keep and bear arms). This is a significant piece of litigation that we're very optimistic about; I think it's safe to say that gun buyers and transferees have been making two trips for one gun far, far too long. (I wonder how big the 10-day ban's carbon footprint is...) 

It's been a while since our last post - it's safe to assume we have been working on the next volley of lawsuits - so we wanted to take a few minutes and update you on some interesting developments out of Ventura County.

On the morning of Sept. 26, 2011, Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean and I had a very positive telephone conversation in which he pledged to work closely with Calguns Foundation on the Carry License Sunshine & Compliance Initiative's goals for his department. To that end, he assured us that he and his department were committed to developing a vastly more efficient, compliant policy and system for carry license applicants.

Especially significant in light of California Gov. Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr.'s signing of AB 144 into law - a piece of legislation that does nothing but frustrate the rights of law-abiding gun owners - Calguns Foundation has published statistics on all active carry licenses and licensing authorities across the state. (Continued after the "read more" jump.)
 

Things are looking dicey for Attorney General Eric Holder, as more and more evidence is stacking up against him and the Dept. of Justice on the "Fast and Furious" gun walking scandal (implicating, also, senior Obama administration staffers).

As reported by John Richardson at No Lawyers - Only Guns and Money blog, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) - Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee - told Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace that Mr. Holder should be expecting a new set of supoenas to hit this week.

YouTube clip of the Rep. Issa interview and more info at the "read more" jump.

Recently I got into a discussion with someone who had moved away from California. He asserted that all the litigation didn't matter and that we as civil rights supporters were not winning and, as usual, we Californians should just leave. I asked him an important question and it should be telling that he didn't answer that question publicly. I asked him how populous his supposed free state was. He privately replied that his new state's population was 3,800,000 (Oregon) and continued to accuse California gun rights supporters of being Baghdad Bob for saying that we're winning. There is no more serious case of Battered Gun Owner Syndrome or lack of understanding of what is actually going on in the US. Because I think this attitude may be a bit too common, I'm compelled to comment on it.

Just wanted to show you all what it looks like when we first receive raw public records for our Carry License Sunshine and Compliance Initiative. More info and a photo after the "read more" jump.

-Brandon
 
 

Note: An updated tally of Ambassadors, by county, is available at the jump.

We've had a fantastic response to our request for applicant volunteers and folks willing to step up as LTC Initiative Ambassadors, CGF-supported local experts who will assist people through the application process and help us fix deficient or unlawful local policies. Considering the great show of support for this important effort to advance our right to bear arms, I thought our readers might be interested in a few additional thoughts on the program and what we look forward to accomplishing through this active partnership of CGF and civil rights activists like you.

All,

CGF's Carry License Sunshine and Compliance Initiative policy compliance efforts are cranking back up with the CGF v. Ventura case concluded, CGF v. Merced case filed, and the 2011 Sunshine Initiative Audit now firmly underway.