By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
A federal district judge in California has granted a preliminary injunction in a challenge by the Second Amendment Foundation and others of that state’s ban on granting concealed carry permits to non-residents.
The ruling also dealt with alleged delays by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and La Verne Police Department in issuing carry permits in a timely manner. As noted in the ruling, “many individuals who have applied for a CCW license with the LASD have been waiting for a decision on their CCW applications for longer than the 120 days contemplated by current California law… Plaintiffs argue that the delays in LASD’s application processing are unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.”
The case is known as CRPA v. LASD.
U.S. District Court Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett, a 2022 Joe Biden appointee, granted in part and denied in part the plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction. The state has 21 days to file a response, and within 30 days, plaintiffs must “meet and confer” with the state and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department “to submit a proposed order entering the preliminary injunction consistent with the specific findings” made by the court order.
SAF is joined by the California Rifle & Pistol Association, Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation, Gun Owners of California and seven private citizens. The LA County Sheriff’s Office is the main defendant, along with Attorney General Rob Bonta and the La Verne Police Department.
In her 43-page decision, Judge Garnett observed, “the State bears the burden of showing whether California’s residency requirements for a CCW license is ‘consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.” A few pages later, she notes, “the State has not carried its burden at this stage to show that the limitation of CCW licenses to California residents is part of a historical tradition of this Nation.”
SAF officials are cheering the win.
In a prepared statement, SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb observed, Americans do not leave their Second Amendment right to bear arms at the California border. California is behind the curve in recognizing that the Second Amendment was incorporated to the states via the 14th Amendment since SAF’s Supreme Court victory in the 2010 McDonald ruling.”
“The writing is clearly on the wall,” added SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut, “when Judge Garnett noted the Court already found that we are likely to succeed on the merits of our argument that California’s residency requirement for CCW applications is unconstitutional. We are confident our challenge will continue to prevail.”
