SHERIFF TO STAY REVOCATIONS OF CARRY CONCEALED WEAPONS (CCW) PERMITS UNTIL CLARIFICATION FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE IS RECEIVED

During last week’s Board meeting, it came to light during the testimony of several speakers on the CCW license issue that the revocation of a CCW license due to the new Sheriff’s more stringent policy would have the unintended consequence of any CCW revocation appearing on the person’s Department of Justice record in the same manner as if the license had been revoked because of criminal misconduct or other wrongdoing. This raised a significant concern that law-abiding citizens may suffer negative consequences in their personal and professional lives as a result of this license revocation appearing on their Department of Justice record.

To address this issue, I recommended to my colleagues on the Board to direct County Counsel, in conjunction with the Sheriff, to contact the Department of Justice in an effort to clearly distinguish on the individual records that failure to meet a revised discretionary interpretation of “good cause” must not be misinterpreted and entered into the Department of Justice record as not being fit to carry a concealed weapon.

My recommendation was unanimously supported by my colleagues on the Board. More importantly, the Sheriff has agreed to stay all revocations of CCW permits until the Department of Justice provides clarification related to the impacts any revocation may have on a CCW permit holder’s record. This is a positive step forward in working cooperatively and I appreciate the Sheriff’s willingness to re-look at this important issue.