The San Francisco Sheriff’s Office recently approved a concealed carry weapon (CCW) permit application, which allows individuals to carry concealed weapons, months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the right is protected under the U.S. Constitution.
“We can confirm we did approve our first CCW permit Friday,” said Tara Moriarty, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, according to the
San Francisco Chronicle. The applicant, Benjamin Zhang, is employed at an automobile shop in Tenderloin, a neighborhood plagued with drug dealings, which made him file for the permit. “I was never a gun guy ... but it’s getting alarming. Drug dealers moved up on my block now. I never saw that until recently,” he told the outlet.
In June last year, the
Supreme Court ruled in the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association (NYSRPA) v. Bruen case that Americans have the constitutional right to carry concealed firearms in public.
Since that judgment, this is the first time that the Sheriff’s Office has approved an application from a resident to carry a concealed weapon.
Kostas Moros, an attorney with the California Rifle and Pistol Association, told
Washington Examiner that the organization is “pleased” with the CCW approval.
“Unfortunately, it took seven months since the Bruen decision for the first permit to be approved, and countless other applicants are still waiting,” Moros said while pointing out that San Francisco is “failing to meet” a California law that requires permit applications to be processed within 90 days.
“We intend to keep up the pressure on the county until all law-abiding applicants can get permits issued within a reasonable time frame,” he added.
Supreme Court Judgment
On June 23, 2022, the Supreme Court decided to strike down New York’s concealed gun permitting system in a 6–3 vote, noting that the Constitution protects the right to carry firearms for self-defense in public.The majority opinion, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, pointed out that it makes no sense to deny American citizens the right to defend themselves outside of their homes.
“Confining the right to ‘bear’ arms to the home would make little sense given that self-defense is ‘the central component of the [Second Amendment] right itself,’” Thomas
wrote in the opinion.
“After all, the Second Amendment guarantees an ‘individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation,’ and confrontation can surely take place outside the home … Many Americans hazard greater danger outside the home than in it.”
The
Supreme Court thereby ruled that states with strict gun laws cannot force citizens to show a special need for self-defense in order to procure permits that allow carrying concealed firearms.
Gun Carry Laws
The San Francisco Police Department’s
website for CCW application states that “per the Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the good cause requirement is no longer required and will not be considered” by the department.
Democrat lawmakers from the state and city are said to be working to limit CCW permits, insisting that allowing people to carry guns will be dangerous to other people.
Catherine Stefani, who serves on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, intends to introduce legislation expanding the list of “sensitive areas” where people are not allowed to carry guns—even with a CCW permit—
she told the San Francisco Chronicle.
“I will say this, I felt safer in #Arizona which is a constitutional carry state aka no permits are required, than I do in San Francisco where only the police and criminals have guns,” journalist Stanley Roberts
said in a Feb. 1 tweet.
Meanwhile, other states are pushing ahead with pro-gun carry laws. On Jan. 1, Alabama
enacted a law that allows residents to carry concealed firearms without requiring a permit.
On Jan. 30, Florida House Speaker Paul Renner (R-District 19) said that Republicans
intend to file a bill that will give state citizens the right to carry concealed firearms without permits.
