Law and Order

David W. Spears, who lives in the city where we live has filed suit to be issued a permit to carry a concealed firearm. We’re going to watch this story as it develops since it could change our police chief’s policy for issuing CCW permits.

California has a ‘shall issue’ law on the books that assigns the issue responsibility to local law enforcement. The chief’s policy seems to conflict with California Department of Justice rules for issue.

Excerpted from the Daily Breeze:

Spears contends that when he applied for a permit in Torrance, he was issued an application form, but at the same time received a letter from the Police Department stating that “we do not have records on the issuance of any such permits, since it has been the long-standing practice of our chiefs of police not to issue such permits to citizens.”

“Defendants’ formal policy is logically and clearly intended to put a ‘false face’ on defendants’ public persona, making it appear that defendants comply with the requirements and rules of the Department of Justice and with (the) Penal Code – when they actually do not,” Spears’ lawsuit alleges.

“Instead, defendants willfully disregarded and ignored their own written policies and procedures, willfully disregarded and ignored the law, and willfully violated plaintiffs’ constitutional rights in order to deprive him of a means of self defense.”

One of several supporting documents to the lawsuit includes a letter from the state Department of Justice that states the Police Department is required to notify the agency of any license denials and retain records of those denials.

Terry A. Nelson, Spears’ attorney, said in an interview that the Police Department doesn’t follow those requirements either.

“It would be funny if it weren’t so serious, but Torrance totally acts in the concealed carry weapon permit arena in violation of federal law,” Nelson said. “I speculate that the reason they don’t is if they kept the records they’d show numerous applicants being told, ‘don’t bother'” to apply.

Spears works in an occupation where he regularly is confronted with hostility. All he wants to do is to pack his Glock subcompact .45 pistol in case one of his hostile ‘clients’ gets too rambunctious.

I don’t blame him. As I said earlier, we’re going to be watching this case.

UPDATE: Spears Drops Case Against City

Continue reading…

Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association had this observation about a recent 911 call and the murder that happened while the caller was on the phone with the dispatcher.

The Sound of Silence

I read a heartbreaking story the other day. A woman is on the phone with 911 to report a burglar in her home. Dispatchers hear gunshots, then silence. When deputies arrive, the homeowner is dead.

Her husband arrives a few minutes later, only to be told that his wife is dead. News reports say “he collapsed and started to cry, saying ‘No! She just called me. You lie.'”

The real lie is that gun control and gun bans make us safer. All they do is put innocent people at risk of violent criminals. In 2005, the FBI says there were more than 2,000,000 burglaries in this country. There were also more than 400,000 robberies. If you were one of the millions of victims of crime, would you not want the option to defend yourself with a firearm?

Gun bans like Washington, D.C.’s only affect the law abiding. They don’t disarm criminals, but they ensure that residents are left with one option: call 911 and hope help arrives before it’s too late. And sadly, we know all too well how that often works out.

Minstrel posted a recent article on this topic – 9.1.1 – Dial-A-Prayer for the Unarmed. In the post, there was a quote by Richard Stevens, a Washington, D.C. lawyer and author of Dial 911 and Die, wherein he gives the two reasons that 911 and police response are inadequate:

First, the police cannot and do not protect everyone from crime.

Second, the government and the police in most localities owe no legal duty to protect individuals from criminal attack.

When it comes to deterring crime and defending against criminals, individuals are ultimately responsible for themselves and their loved ones. Depending solely on police emergency response means relying on the telephone as the only defensive tool. Too often, citizens in trouble dial 911 . . . and die.

The murder in question occurred in California – whose gun control laws make it one of the most difficult places to obtain firearms for protection. The laws are intimidating – people who would like to buy a gun for self-protection find themselves faced with absurdly-high fees and a myriad of red tape not seen in most states.

The ultra-liberal majority in California state politics is as culpable for murders like this as are the perpetrators who pull the trigger of a stolen or illegally obtained gun.