It's been three years since the Bruen decision put an end to California's "may issue" carry laws, but in some parts of the state it feels like not much has changed. Some jurisdictions are taking well over a year to process carry applications, and those delays are having an enormous impact on thousands of applicants, who are unable to exercise their right to bear arms without risking criminal charges.
Some folks are choosing to run that risk, but they're not getting much sympathy from the courts if they're caught with a gun. This week California Superior Court Commissioner Brad Miles Fox denied a request to give one defendant the opportunity for pre-trial diversion, despite the fact that he had a pending concealed carry application for his legally owned guns.
Deputy Alternate Public Defender David Schwartz argued for judicial diversion for the accused, who had previously made efforts to legally obtain a concealed carry license for their three registered firearms.
Schwartz highlighted the accused’s stable employment as a Coast Guard member and their current waitlist status with the Los Angeles Police Department to obtain the license.
The defense brought to the court’s attention that the LAPD is currently facing criticism and a lawsuit for failing to process concealed carry applications or issue permits.
“The LAPD is currently being sued for not issuing permits, a situation deemed unconstitutional,” Schwartz told the court.
Deputy District Attorney Andrew Akira Baeza countered by noting three firearms were present in the accused’s vehicle at the time of arrest, all registered to him.
The prosecution also brought attention to a prior improper carry charge from 2012, which the commissioner cited as concerning when considering diversion.
“Given the [accused] had some [violations of concealed carry] years ago, a judicial diversion does not seem appropriate,” the commissioner stated.
This is infuriating. It was virtually impossible for an average citizen in Los Angeles to obtain a carry license before the Bruen decision in 2022, and things aren't much better now even though the state has supposedly switched to a "shall issue" regime. But even though the Supreme Court ruled the state's prior system violated residents' Second Amendment rights, Fox told the man's public defender that “the law has changed, but the act was illegal," and a judicial diversion "is not right.”
The defendant isn't accused of any kind of violent offense. Thirteen years ago he was charged with carrying without a permit; a permit he had no chance of obtaining because of the state's unconstitutional gun law. Now he's facing the same charge because even though he's eligible to receive a carry permit, local law enforcement (including the LAPD) are dragging their collective feet when it comes to approving applications in a timely manner.
Miles has scheduled a follow-up hearing for late August to "allow further examination of systemic issues affecting concealed carry permits", according to the Davis Vanguard, but in the meantime this defendant is still facing criminal charges for the Kafkaesque crime of exercising a fundamental civil right before obtaining a government-issued permission slip the government won't issue in a timely manner.
Under California Penal Code Section 26205, licensing authorities have 120 days to approve or deny an application once it's been received. If the LAPD can't meet that requirement, why should lawful gun owners be punished for the government's failure to do its job? That may be what the law requires, but in this case the law is an ass. A just decision would be to dismiss these charges if the defendant has been waiting more than four months for his application to be approved, or to at least grant the request for pre-trial diversion... along with an admonition to the LAPD to get its act together or face legal sanctions itself.
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