Kern County
CCW Certification
8 Hour Class
This class is
broken up into two parts.
1st is 4
hours of classroom covering "The Tactical
Triad"
Mindset, Equipment and California CCW
Law
2nd is 4
hour range instruction with skills test and man-on-man shooting
competition.
It is a fast
paced highly instructional series, to not only to satisfy the Kern County CCW requirements, but to also make
you a more aware, safe, competent, self confidant firearm user.
Your how-to guide to getting a CCW in
Kern County
Information included in this article is aimed at getting the permit from the
Kern County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Youngblood has a history of being fair and open regarding your
requests for a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
Step #1 – Get the
Application
The first step is to obtain the application packet.
“But, I thought I had to take the class first?” No, you do not have to take the class first. In fact, as will be
discussed elsewhere, taking the class first does not help you get the permit and the certificate from class is only
valid for 90 days. If you take the class first, and are delayed past the 90 days in submitting your application,
you may have to retake the class. Our advice is for you to apply first. The application costs you nothing and the
Sheriff’s Department will notify you when you are approved to take the class. However, the Sheriff’s office has
recently indicated that you may turn in your application for the permit along with the certificate from class.
However, remember it costs you nothing to submit the application. If you take the class and are denied the permit,
you will be out the money for the class. Here is a link to the application:
Get Application here
Read pages 1 & 2
carefully. Beginning with Page 3, write neatly or type the information into the application. Be truthful. The
truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth is what is important as you fill out the
application.
Section 2 – Applicant Clearance
Questions
Answer all questions with a brief and concise
answer. Do not leave anything out, ever. No detail is too small. If you need additional space to explain a detailed
problem, make a type written attachment, or at least in very easy to read handwriting. When you get to question
number 8, be sure to pull a DMV printout for the last ten years if you have any questions. You want to include each
and every one of the traffic violations, no matter how small. This would especially include moving
violations.
Section 3 – Description of
Weapons
List three weapons, if you have that many, that you
wish to place on the permit. The specifics of the weapons may change and you can add or delete the weapon at the
actual time the permit is issued or at a later time. Please be considerate of the staff with regards to adding and
deleting weapons. There is a certain amount of paperwork they must do when they add or delete a gun from you permit
and the Sheriff charges a very nominal fee. Please do not be that person who changes the guns on his/her permit
five times in a calendar year. Once or twice during the two year permit process is reasonable, perhaps more often
if there is a change of circumstances, but try not to be excessive about this. Please note, do not bring the
firearm into the Sheriff’s office without permission. Additionally, ensure that your firearm is unloaded and a lock
is run through the slide and magwell, or blocking the revolver cylinder from closing. Also, when adding a firearm,
make sure that you hand the weapon to the clerk or Deputy with the butt of the weapon towards the officer, never
with the muzzle forward. For a modification to your permit, you will have to provide a legal bill of sale;
otherwise your weapon will not be added to your permit
Sections 4 through 6 – Conditions &
Restrictions, Penal Code, Agreement
Please read these sections carefully. While you
will learn much of this in the class you will take, you are signing this form understanding that you will be held
accountable for the contents of the form and the Sheriff is NOT making a joke when they have you sign the
restrictions on the permit. This is serious!
Section 7 – Investigator’s Interview
Notes
Proceed with Section 7 and, once again, the truth,
the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Numbers 1 through 5 are self explanatory. Number 6 is very important.
List any and ALL arrests even if there were no charges filed. This would include things such things as a “detox
only” arrest when you were 22 years old and were having a few too many beers during Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Yes,
this might just show up on you background check. Now you must articulate the Good Cause Statement. In order for you
to be issued a concealed weapons permit, you must present the Sheriff with Good Cause to issue you a permit.
California law, Penal Code Section 12050 states that a permit to carry a concealed weapon ("CCW") may be issued to
an applicant by the sheriff of the county or police chief or head of a municipal police department of the city in
which the applicant lives. Or, in cases of employment or business in a different county, the sheriff of the
different county may issue a temporary 90 day permit that is valid only in that county. An applicant must have Good
Cause, be of "good moral character", and undergo specific training.
One definition of what constitutes a Good Cause was
written in an unpublished (i.e., not official) response letter by California Attorney General Evelle J. Younger, in
August 23, 1977: OPINION NO. CR. 77/30 I.L.: “the issuing authority must determine whether the threat to the
applicant (or other causal situation) is as real as the applicant asserts (e.g., is there a clear and present
danger to the applicant, his spouse, his family or his employees)? Finally, if the danger is manifest, the
authority should determine whether that danger cannot be significantly alleviated by alternative means of security
and whether in fact can be lawfully mitigated by the applicant's obtaining a concealed weapon license.” Ok, so what
does this mean to the applicant? Well, it means it is very unlikely the Sheriff will issue a permit based solely
upon 2nd amendment rights. Get over it. He will only issue it based upon his belief that you have Good Cause. We
live in California and we have to deal with what is the law, not what we wish was the law. While there are some
recent case law decisions which assist us in this matter and another case was recently filed that will hopefully
clarify this matter, we are dealing with what is law and procedure on this day and in this time. Fortunately
Sheriff Youngblood, and his predecessors, has a generous interpretation of what constitutes Good Cause. So let’s
start by giving Sheriff Youngblood a break here, and let’s give him a reasonable Good Cause statement so that he
can issue you a concealed weapons permit. No one can write this for you. Only you can articulate your Good Cause.
So, do yourself a favor and put forward your best possible Good Cause statement, even if it appears that the
Sheriff might accept something less. For a look at an interesting couple of pending cases regarding this issue,
please follow the following links:
http://www.calccw.com/Forums/legal/16650-ccw-good-cause-motion-summary-judgement-san-diego.html
http://www.calccw.com/Forums/legal/16127-update-peruta-v-county-san-diego.html
and
http://www.calccw.com/Forums/legal/11189-sykes-motion-summary-judgement-right-carry.html
Some basic ground rules about writing your Good
Cause statement:
·Don’t Lie – ever, anywhere on the application
·Do NOT copy someone else’s Good Cause statement. This is YOUR statement and it
needs to come from you, from your life, your experience, your circumstance and in your
words.
·Do not ask for your 2nd amendment rights – as discussed above, the Sheriff can
only issue you the permit if you articulate a Good Cause. Nothing in the law allows the Sheriff to issue you a
permit based upon your constitutional rights, yet. Although Heller and McDonald both discussed and implied that
carrying a firearm in case of confrontation was a fundamental right, this is still working its way through the
legal system. Keep track of the above-cited court cases, as this may change in the next year or so. When it does,
we will update the information here as well.
·Do not say that you want the permit because the local cops don’t come to your
call in a timely manner. This may in fact be true, but you don’t need to make this point to a Sheriff who is
severely strapped for public funds and has many fewer deputies to put on the street than he would like. Feel free
to say something about response times being extended if you live, work or travel in a remote area of the county.
But if you live in a metropolitan area, you are advised to avoid this topic.
·Do not overplay that you have permits in other states, such as Utah and
Florida. These out of state permits are valuable to you and we encourage those who travel outside of California to
take a good look at the Utah permit, but the topic is not germane to your Good Cause. Many people feel this only
hurts your Good Cause statement and may give the impression that you are a “junior ninja/Rambo” type. If you travel
frequently out of state to check on your out of state property or do business in other states, it doesn’t hurt to
mention you have an out of state permit but you are advised to not overplay it if you have five other permits in
other states as it may convey the wrong impression and you don’t want to give the impression that you are a CCW
collector instead of a sincere individual who needs the permit as you are at risk. The application demands you list
the permits. Do so as requested. But it is suggested that this not be part of your Good Cause as explained
above.
·Don’t Lie – ever – We have already said that but it is worth saying again –
DON’T LIE. Have a friend who will be honest with you read and ask you questions about the Good Cause statement.
Have them help you correct your spelling and grammar.
Ok, so what kinds of
things should you include in writing your Good Cause statement? Well, the first thing you need to do is to sit down
at the old computer or with a pencil and pad and begin to jot down some notes. Think about the circumstances in
your life that would cause you to be at risk of being attacked and sustaining great bodily injury or death. These
need to be unavoidable things, not avoidable circumstances. What do you mean avoidable circumstances? Well, for
instance, if you think it is too dangerous for you to go for walks in your neighborhood and you want a permit to go
for walks, the answer to that is to not go for walks in your neighborhood. But what if you do not possess a
driver’s license, have a heart condition, the doctor has directed you to walk for your health and you live in a
high crime neighborhood? Well, let us take another look at the Attorney General’s letter for a second...“…the
authority should determine whether that danger cannot be significantly alleviated by alternative means of security
and whether in fact can be lawfully mitigated by the applicant's obtaining a concealed weapon license.” So in the
above scenario, where you must exercise, cannot drive from the neighborhood, must walk to the bus stop and live in
a high crime neighborhood, the Sheriff could possibly issue you a permit as the “danger cannot be significantly
alleviated by alternative means..”. What you need to do is articulate how the danger cannot be
alleviated.
Some questions for you to ask
yourself:
Do you have a physical disability or condition
which would make it difficult for you to run away from an attack, would place in you grave danger if you were
struck in an attack, or otherwise limits your mobility and ability to avoid trouble?
Do you have a physical condition which would make
you more to susceptible to death or great bodily injury if physically assaulted?
Do you live in a remote area of the
county?
Do you have to travel for medical
treatment?
Do you work outside of the county or in remote
areas of the county?
Do you hire and fire employees? Are you concerned
an ex-employee will target you outside of the work environment? Do you have a restraining order against an
ex-employee or co-worker?
Do you carry tools in the course and scope of your
employment? Are you concerned an opportunistic thief will target you to steal from you or attack you in an effort
to steal your expensive tools?
Do you carry expensive equipment in the course and
scope of your employment? Are you concerned an opportunistic thief will target you to steal from you or attack you
in an effort to steal your expensive equipment?
Do you run a small “side” business where you carry
equipment or tools and have a concern an opportunistic thief will target you to steal from you or attack you in an
effort to steal your expensive equipment or cash?
Are you the owner or responsible employee of a
business, responsible for making deposits, withdrawals, responding to alarm calls, opening and closing the
business, hiring and firing employees, etc.? Are you concerned you may be the target of a thief or robber while
going about the activities of your business?
As a business owner, or are you a contractor doing
business in high crime areas? Do you travel to remote locations to conduct your business? Do you work odd hours,
before daylight and after darkness? Are you concerned someone will attack you in an effort to steal your tools,
cash or supplies?
Have you been threatened? Was the threat documented
in a police report? Do you have a restraining order designed to keep someone away from
you?
Are you an attorney or do you have some sort of
business or employment where the clients or customers can be very unhappy with the results of their case or
project, so unhappy that they might want to cause you harm? For instance, do you make financial decisions which can
determine whether or not someone stays in their home or loses their property?
Are you an inspector, real estate personage or
appraiser who visits abandoned or foreclosed homes and often confronts “squatters” or others in
homes?
Do you make decisions which might deny someone
government benefits to which they may feel entitled?
Do you own property, collect rents, inspect
property or monitor vacant properties?
Perhaps you are in charge of keeping a property up
while it is in foreclosure?
Do you own foreclosed properties and have had
trouble with the former owners?
Are you in real estate where you show properties
and are at risk of meeting a violent person while you are alone and showing properties?
Are you a mental health professional who works with
potentially unstable people? Or perhaps you have counseled someone who is in the midst of a divorce or separation
and are afraid someone will blame you for their divorce/separation or personal problems or perhaps that a mentally
unstable person will seek you out and harm you as the result of your clinical practice?
Are you a medical, dental or veterinary
professional who might fear addicts who want the drugs you carry or the prescription pad you carry? Do you fear an
opportunistic addict will attack you in a fit of a drug induced rage in order to obtain the drugs they believe they
need?
Do you carry valuables or large sums of money? Not
that you carry the money as an excuse to shoot someone who is robbing you, but that you fear in the midst of a
robbery, some felon may use the moment to eliminate all witnesses? Do you fear preemptive death or great bodily
injury from an armed thief even though you would normally comply and surrender all in exchange for escaping
harm?
Do you have a small business where you deal with
hobby items, guns, collectibles and transport those valuable items around the state in the pursuit of your small
business? But it is just a hobby some say. Yes, perhaps, but if it is something you do for a profit, it becomes a
small business. So if you have filed a tax return on your small hobby business or have a license to operate as a
business perhaps it is a business? But ALWAYS remember, never lie.
Do you travel in rough neighborhoods? If so why? If
it is to care for a relative or friend or because of your employment, you need to articulate why you fear death or
great bodily injury if you are accosted.
What about camping? Well again, if camping is your
recreation, it is optional. You can avoid being attacked while camping by not going camping. Besides, it is legal
to have a weapon at your campsites under some circumstances. Check out this Penal Code reference and these
links:
Once you have written your letter, email to George@shootinghelp.com. for review. He will
take a look at it and give his opinion as to cause. ShootingHelp can not and will not write your letter, only
you can, it is your reason, your cause, your story.
CA Penal Code Section
12031
(l) Nothing in this section shall prevent any person from having
a
loaded weapon, if it is otherwise lawful, at his or her place
of
residence, including any temporary residence or
campsite.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=pen&group=12001-13000&file=12020-12040
http://www.calccw.com/Forums/where-can-t-i-carry/1103-can-i-carry-ca-state-park.html
http://www.calccw.com/Forums/where-can-t-i-carry/7523-national-park-concealed-carry.html
The above questions are only some of the questions
you can ask yourself. Make a full assessment of your situation and articulate it the best you can. A suggestion is
to break down the areas where you feel at risk into separate paragraphs and include all of the reasons you believe
you are at risk. There might be 1,000 reasons and you would need that many paragraphs. Have someone read it for
you. Make sure the spelling and the grammar are correct. You want it to look really clean and professional.
Remember you will have to substantiate any and all statements you made in your written statement. If you put down
an employment related reason, and you will be carrying while working, you may need a letter from your
employer.
California law does not recognize CCW licenses issued in other
states.
(PC Section 12050)
Thank You Dresden - CalCCW
|
