2/27/2014: Gun laws in California: Concealed-carry ruling appealed by Attorney General Kamala Harris

[WeekiWater]

California Attorney General Kamala Harris asked a federal appeals court Thursday to review and reverse its recent decision that declared unconstitutional the restrictions many counties use to limit the right to carry a concealed handgun.

San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore — whose policy the lawsuit had challenged — announced last week that he would not appeal the three-judge panel’s Feb. 13 ruling. So Harris on Thursday moved to intervene in the case, asking that the 2-1 ruling be reviewed by an 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

Harris’ office noted Thursday that if the ruling is allowed to take effect, sheriffs all over California — including the Bay Area, where counties are rather tightfisted about concealed-carry permits — could be required to issue permits based on nothing more than the applicant’s stated wish to carry a gun for self-defense.

“Local law enforcement must be able to use their discretion to determine who can carry a concealed weapon,” she said in a news release. “I will do everything possible to restore law enforcement’s authority to protect public safety, and so today am calling on the court to review and reverse its decision.”

Mercury News