By Doug Porter

A federal appeals court has struck down rules permitting counties in California to impose restrictions on carrying concealed weapons in public. The 2-1 decision by U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel is aimed at restrictions primarily imposed in the states’ urban regions including Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego and San Francisco.

California’s rules will remain in effect for the foreseeable future, pending appeals, including a potential rehearing before a larger 9th Circuit panel. Many news accounts quoted lawyers saying the issue would eventually be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The ruling is contrary to decisions in the Second, Third, and Fourth Circuits in Drake v. Filko (New Jersey), Woollard v. Sheridan (Maryland) and Kachalsky v. Cacace (New York.)

This case will likely push the Supreme Court to weigh in to work out the various conflicts on the circuit level. The high court has not ruled on what restrictions on an individual’s right to bear arms are constitutional.

The original lawsuit targeted the San Diego sheriff, whose policy requiring specific reasons over and above the usual “for personal protection” in advance for issuing a concealed carry permit infuriated gun owners. For the time being 9th Circuit ruling affects only California and Hawaii, states whose legislation was based on a “may issue” versus a “shall issue” interpretation of prior high court rulings on permitting.

From the Los Angeles Times:

The majority said the restrictions violate the 2nd Amendment’s guarantee of the right to bear arms because they deny law-abiding citizens the ability to carry weapons in public unless they show they need the protection for specific reasons.

“We are not holding that the Second Amendment requires the states to permit concealed carry,” Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain, a Reagan appointee, wrote for the panel. “But the Second Amendment does require that the states permit some form of carry for self-defense outside the home.”

…

Senior Deputy San Diego County Counsel James Chapin, who represented San Diego in the case, called the lawsuit that led to Thursday’s decision an “end run” against the state’s new ban on openly carrying guns in public.

The run up to these latest restrictions gave birth to California’s ‘open carry’ movement, wherein advocates staged events in public places with individuals boldly displaying (unloaded) weapons to show their opposition to further restrictions on guns. In 2011 nearly 30 people carrying shotguns, rifles and pistols gathered at Pacific Beach in a demonstration supporting open-carry of firearms.  

I might be more sympathetic to the local second amendment crowd if their adherents didn’t overlap so much with birthers, nativists and other faux-patriot rabble.

Keeping the Crazy Alive in the California GOP

Speaking of birthers, queen birther Orly Taitz has decided to run for State Attorney General. She’s certainly got a lot of experience, given her multiple careers in Dentistry, Law and Real Estate, along with a dozen-plus quixotic law suits.

Here’s some of her ‘truths’, ripped from the pages of Wikipedia:   

• A number of homosexuals from Obama’s former church have died mysteriously.
• Obama has dozens of Social Security numbers, and his passport is inaccurate. Taitz claims that a person who was cooperating with the FBI in connection with Obama’s passport died mysteriously, “shot in the head”.
• A Kenyan birth certificate with the name “Barack Obama” is authentic.
• Obama’s first act as President was to donate money to Hamas, which she claims will be used to build Qassam rockets.
• Obama, or someone connected to him, has made threats to Taitz’s life and vandalized her car.
• Obama is having the Federal Emergency Management Agency build internment camps for “Anti-Obama dissidents”.
• Osama bin Laden was killed years ago, with his body kept on ice, and the announcement of his death was timed to divert attention from an upcoming court case she is litigating challenging Obama’s citizenship.
• Sandy Hook shooting : “Was Adam Lanza drugged and hypnotised by his handlers to make him into a killing machine as an excuse as the regime is itching to take all means of self defense from the populace before the economic collapse?”
• Goldman Sachs runs the United States Treasury.
• Baxter International has developed a bird flu vaccine that kills people.
• Representative Alcee Hastings and the House of Representatives are planning to build at least six labor camps.
  
• Hugo Chávez owns the software that runs American voting machines,
  
• FactCheck is untrustworthy because of its links to the Annenberg Foundation.

Here’s an excellent assessment of her candidacy from the National Memo’s “This Week in Crazy” column:

If you’re a California voter who wants an attorney general with an incredibly tenuous grasp of the law, and who still thinks that President Obama is a Kenyan sleeper agent, then I have some good news: Orly Taitz is jumping into the race!

As the California-based Orange Juice Blog reports, the “birther queen” has filed papers signifying her intent to challenge incumbent attorney general Kamala Harris (D) in her 2014 re-election race.

Taitz confirms the news on her website, with a message fit for a Nigerian prince:

this is my opponent CA AG Kamela Harris, former girlfriend of elderly SF mayor Willie Brown. Sign Orly Taitz for AG of ACa nominations, I need at least 63 signatures . Please, help me raise $6,250 for the candidate statement, which I need to submit to the SOS within 72 hours

You may be laughing, but California Republicans probably aren’t. Taitz is currently the only candidate opposing Harris, which should give her ample opportunity to accelerate the state GOP’sepic collapse with her genuinely crazy conspiracy theories.

Speaking of Gun Nuts….

Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, the GOP’s wingnuttiest candidate for Governor next year, may be in hot water.  

From the Los Angeles Times:

Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, Republican candidate for governor and outspoken gun-rights advocate, appears to have violated his probation agreement while firing borrowed weapons at an indoor gun range last week.

The San Bernardino County lawmaker was placed on probation for three years after taking a loaded gun to Ontario International Airport in his carry-on briefcase in 2012.

The terms of his plea deal say Donnelly cannot “personally use, own or possess any firearm that is not registered to him,” according to court records.

Encanto Police Shooting Under Fire

The San Diego Police Department and their legal enablers can’t seem to catch a break these days.  Yet another litigant’s legal team has come up with evidence suggesting malfeasance.  At least this time it’s not sexual assault and/or battery– it’s death by cop instead. And this time it’s a video shot from a police helicopter.

10News aired a video yesterday released by lawyers for a 19 year old woman wounded in a police shoot out, fundamentally challenging the SDPD claims a hail of gunfire killing her boyfriend, Jonathan Vasquez, was in response to threatening behavior.  

Silvia Fletes was a passenger in a stolen car chased by police in January 2013. She claims she was unaware that the car was hot, and is suing the police claiming excessive force.

[Attorney Alvin] Gomez says police mistakenly got out of their cars when the suspected car was still moving.

Police initially told 10news, the car was charging at them, but Gomez said the video clearly shows the car had been stalled for several seconds, when police first fired.

“The most outrageous part is they shot an unarmed passenger just sitting there,” Gomez said.  Gomez said Fletes was diagnosed with PTSD, including depression, anxiety and nightmares.          

According to police, the district attorney did clear the officers who are back on duty, deeming their actions justified.

More on Faulconer’s Possible Replacement

Two members of the Point Loma Democratic Club have expressed an interest in being appointed by the San Diego City Council to serve out soon-to-be-mayor Kevin Faulconer’s term.

From a PLDC email:

Besides Ed Harris another potential candidate is Gretchen Kinney Newsom, our club Secretary and President of the Ocean Beach Town Council.

Gretchen has taken an active role toward preserving and improving community resources, advocating for a sustainable local economy, enhancing community dialogue and civic engagement, increasing neighborhood safety, and maintaining the unique “vibe” of Ocean Beach.

She previously served as Special Assistant and senior advisor to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, a bipartisan body charged with conducting the nation’s official inquiry into the causes of the financial and economic crisis, and worked for the California State Treasurer’s office, and a gubernatorial campaign.

She too would be able to devote 9-10 months to this interim position. Additionally, she shares iMayor Gloria’s concerns and objectives on homelessness, which is a major issue for District 2. Gretchen would be steadfast in representing the concerns of the district’s constituents and ensuring a smooth transition once the new councilmember is elected.

Everything’s Lovey Dovey at The OB Library

Yesterday we reported on OB Rag editor Frank Gormlie getting rather rudely booted off the front lawn of the Ocean Beach Public Library for “loitering” as he waited to be picked up by a friend.. Last night there was even chatter about organizing a “Read In” to protest his treatment.  After all, it was Gormlie who played a pivotal role in organizing residents to fight closure a few years back.

Now everything’s been patched up, according to a statement from the OB Rag:

The San Diego Library Area Manager just called Frank Gormlie and apologized for what happened on Wednesday.

Bob Cronk personally thanked Gormlie for his and the OB Rag’s support of the library over the years and said on behalf of the staff, he was sorry.   He had seen the article in the Rag – thanks to Matt Beatty – and had taken serious note of the situation.

Bob did note that the library staff had just had a week or so ago a very ugly incident where an inebriated guy caused a scene and some damage. Both Cronk and Gormlie agreed that even though things like that happen, the staff can’t paint everyone with a broad brush stroke in our diverse and tolerant community.

Gormlie and Cronk also spoke about the need for at least a bench out in front of the library.  Bob would run the idea up the chain of command and Gormlie said he would see if folks around town would help donate for a bench.  “Maybe instead of a ‘Read-In’ in front of the library, we could organize a bench.”

Damn. I’d just located my copy of Carl Sandberg’s “I Am the People, the Mob”

I am the people—the mob—the crowd—the mass.
Do you know that all the great work of the world is done through me?
I am the workingman, the inventor, the maker of the world’s food and clothes.I am the audience that witnesses history.
The Napoleons come from me and the Lincolns. They die. And then I send forth more Napoleons and Lincolns.
I am the seed ground. I am a prairie that will stand for much plowing. Terrible storms pass over me. I forget.
The best of me is sucked out and wasted. I forget.
Everything but Death comes to me and makes me work and give up what I have. And I forget.
Sometimes I growl, shake myself and spatter a few red drops for history to remember. Then—I forget.
When I, the People, learn to remember, when I, the People, use the lessons of yesterday and no longer forget who robbed me last year, who played me for a fool—then there will be no speaker in all the world say the name: “The People,” with any fleck of a sneer in his voice or any far-off smile of derision.
The mob—the crowd—the mass—will arrive then.

 On This Day: 1920 – The League of Women Voters was founded in Chicago. The first president of the organization was Maude Wood Park  1971 – President Nixon installed the secret taping system in White House. 1977 – The B-52’s performed their first concert together in Athens, GA.

Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe to “The Starting Line” and get an email every time a new article in this series is posted!

I read the Daily Fishwrap(s) so you don’t have to… Catch “the Starting Line” Monday thru Friday right here at San Diego Free Press (dot) org. Send your hate mail and ideas to DougPorter@SanDiegoFreePress.Org     Check us out on Facebook and Twitter.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Doug Porter

Doug Porter was active in the early days of the alternative press in San Diego, contributing to the OB Liberator, the print version of the OB Rag, the San Diego Door, and the San Diego Street Journal. He went on to have a 35-year career in the Hospitality business and decided to go back into raising hell when he retired. He won numerous awards for his columns from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Doug is a cancer survivor (sans vocal chords) and lives in North Park.

Latest posts by Doug Porter (see all)

• Last Call. Last Column. - December 14, 2018
• Which Presidential Candidate Will You Support in 2020? - December 13, 2018
• Mounting the Assault on Big Gay and Other Drivel From SDSU’s Minimum Wage Scrooge - December 12, 2018