The changing rules for permits to carry a concealed weapon in California were top of mind among San Diego Gun Show attendees Saturday, as several turned out for a question-and-answer session with county Sheriff Kelly Martinez.
Martinez spoke to a packed room as one of a list of featured speakers at the Gun Owners Symposium, part of the weekend gun show at the East San Diego Masonic Temple in the Lake Murray neighborhood. The gun show continues Sunday, with another full day of symposium speakers slated.
The gun show is being presented by San Diego County Gun Owners, and the symposium is presented by Gun Owners Radio.
San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez
(Courtesy )
Martinez shared that her department is working to develop a better application for those seeking a concealed-carry permit, as her office is not happy with the application now in place.
“If you are doing all the things we ask, we should make it as easy as we can,” she told the several dozen attendees.
Several attendees raised questions and concerns about Senate Bill 2, now a new California law set to go into effect in January.
The new law bars people from carrying guns in several places, including playgrounds, libraries, zoos, amusement parks, hospitals, and houses of worship. The list also includes “any other privately owned commercial establishment that is open to the public” unless the owner posts a sign stating that guns are allowed, and the sign itself must follow a uniform design and minimum size.
Martinez said her attorneys “are looking at it, so I don’t have a lot of definitive answers for you.” She said she expects to know more by December, and said she will post information about the new law on the department’s website then. “We are still working through it as well,” she said.
In 2022, the Supreme Court struck down a New York state requirement that people who want a permit to carry a concealed weapon show that they have good cause to be allowed to do so.
Senate Bill 2 was passed after that court decision. The California Rifle and Pistol Association has already filed a legal challenge to block it.
During last year’s campaign to be county sheriff, the Union-Tribune editorial board asked both candidates whether they would be strict or lenient in issuing the permits.
Martinez responded that she would “follow the law” and fulfill that duty “in a fair and efficient way.” She also noted that in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, the Sheriff’s Department had been “flooded” with applications for concealed-carry permits.
The sheriff said Saturday that her department, which is tasked with overseeing the permitting process, has issued more than 15,000 concealed-carry permits.. She also acknowledged it can take a while for an applicant to get that first appointment to start the permit process — they only do them on Mondays — and cited the problem as lack of staffing.
Some in the crowd praised Martinez’s office, saying their permitting process went smoothly. “Showing up for that interview appointment that I expected to be miserable was the most graceful, respectful, efficient process that I’ve ever been through in any government institution,” one gun owner said. “I was in and out in 20 minutes.”
In response to an audience question, Martinez said she is not aware of anyone local who has a permit to carry a concealed weapon who has then used that weapon to commit a felony.
California lawmakers passed a few measures this year aimed at gun control, including adding an 11 percent state tax to sales of guns and ammo.
