Littleton Doesn’t Alter Carona Stance

As pressure for gun control legislation grows nationally in the wake of the Littleton, Colo., school shootings, Orange County’s new sheriff remains firmly committed to a policy shift that would allow more residents to carry concealed weapons.

In the five months since he took office, Sheriff Mike Carona has received 488 requests for such permits--nearly double the number received last year by his predecessor, Brad Gates. The Sheriff’s Department is now reviewing the applications and conducting criminal background checks. While few permits have been issued so far, none have been rejected, officials said.

Carona has vowed to grant permits to anyone who can show they have no criminal record, will undergo 16 hours of firearms training and can give a good reason for needing a weapon.

Some law enforcement officials have expressed concern over his plans, fearing that more guns on the streets will reap more violence. But Carona remains steadfast in his position.

“I agree that guns in the hands of criminals, guns in the hands of lunatics . . . are hugely problematic,” he said earlier this month, reflecting on the Colorado shooting.

“But those aren’t the people who get [concealed-weapons permits],” he said. “These are law-abiding citizens, and they don’t go out and commit random acts of violence.”

A review of the 488 requests shows that applicants run the gamut from the professional to the vulnerable.

There are security guards and private investigators. Prosecutors and retired police officers. Witnesses to violent crimes and people who say their neighbors have threatened them.

An application from a 70-year-old woman states that she’s afraid to leave her home at night, while a jeweler said he needs protection because of the thousands of dollars in gems he carries in his briefcase.

Carona’s policy has generated renewed scrutiny in the wake of the Littleton high school massacre, in which 15 people died.

“More guns loaded on our public streets . . . will make us less safe,” said Mary Leigh Blek, chairwoman of the Orange County Citizens for the Prevention of Gun Violence. Blek’s son was shot to death in 1994 while on vacation in New York. “It will increase unintentional shootings.”

In the nation’s capital, the Littleton shooting has boosted interest in a variety of gun control measures, including background checks for firearms purchased at gun shows and special child-safety trigger locks on new handguns.

Carona, however, said fears over his concealed-weapons stance are unfounded and that he is simply correcting Gates’ overly restrictive policy.

“I am not opposed to law-abiding citizens who have a need for carrying” guns, Carona said. “That is a departure from my colleagues.”

About 10% of the applications come from people denied permits under Gates, according to Sheriff’s Department records obtained through the California Public Records Act.

One private investigator wrote in his application that he was denied a permit a decade ago because “Brad Gates played favorites.”

Another applicant is a pastor who said he needs a pistol to protect himself against some of the homeless people who attend his church.

“Many of the homeless people who come to us are desperate and are used to using force and bodily harm to get their way, or to obtain money for drugs, etc.,” the pastor wrote in his application.

Most of those seeking permits are either business owners who regularly carry large sums of cash or people with some connection to law enforcement.

Many private investigators have asked for permission to carry guns, arguing that a firearm will help with their work when they travel into unsafe neighborhoods. Security guards said carrying concealed weapons would allow them to work as bodyguards.

Other applicants include gun dealers trading valuable firearms and firefighters worried about their safety in crime-ridden neighborhoods.

One man told sheriff’s officials that he witnessed a brutal rape, confronted the attacker and later testified against the man at a parole hearing. A concealed weapon, he wrote, would offer protection against the offender when he is released from prison.

Others are residents frightened about violent crime, despite evidence that crime rates are dropping locally and across the nation.

“There have been no recent attempts to harm me or my family,” wrote the 70-year-old woman. “I listen to the TV news and read the newspaper accounts of home invasions, car thefts, rapes and muggings. Because of this, my friend and I limit our activities to the daylight hours.”

Some of the reasons given for needing a weapons permit are more unusual.

Take, for example, the Santa Ana father of five who wrote that he needs a gun whenever he takes his family to the market or the movies.

A health insurance executive told officials that he needs a gun because he fears that disgruntled clients might follow him home after being denied insurance claims.

In one case, a Huntington Beach business owner who works late at night wrote: “I’m getting older and can’t run as fast as I used to. . . . I would feel safer if I were better able to protect myself.”

With a permit, a person is legally allowed to carry a revolver or a semiautomatic handgun under their clothing or in a purse or bag.

Worried about Carona’s new policy, several local police departments that once let the Sheriff’s Department handle concealed-weapons requests within their cities are now reviewing such applications themselves.

“I believe that with the initial philosophy that Carona expressed, I had some concerns that there was going to be a different standard than in the past,” said Buena Park Police Chief Richard M. Tefank. “So I pulled back.”

The Sheriff’s Department issued 249 permits last year--fewer per capita than surrounding counties. San Diego County, with roughly the same population, issued 1,500 permits in 1997.

Carona said he will monitor the actions of permit holders to determine whether they are involved in any shootings.

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More People Armed

A substantial increase in the number of concealed weapons permits issued in 1998 brings Orange County’s rate per 100,000 residents higher than in Los Angeles County.

Orange County Permits

1995: 131

1996: 146

1997: 155

1998: 249

*

1998 COMPARISON BY COUNTY

Based on state population estimates for 1997

Orange: 249

9.2 permits per 100,000 population (2,722,300)

Contra Costa: 200

22.2 permits per 100,000 population (900,700)

Los Angeles: 550

5.7 permits per 100,000 population (9,603,300)

San Diego: 1,500

53.7 permits per 100,000 population (2,794,800)

HOW TO GET A PERMIT

Any Orange County resident who wants to carry a concealed weapon must apply for a permit through the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, undergo a thorough background check and pay a $78 fee, most of which goes to the state. The permits are good for one year.

Sources: Individual sheriff’s departments