In a message dated 2/4/02 2:36:55 PM Pacific Standard Time, [email protected]
writes:
> If you are elected sheriff in the upcoming election, would you be
> willing to issue CCW licenses for residents of Contra Costa county?

Mr Nelson,
thank you for your email.  Concealed weapons permits are one of those
"hot-button" issues that no real politician wants to deal with.  However,
since I am not a "professional" politician, I am happy to share my thoughts
with you.  The state legislature has enacted a fair statute regarding the
reasonable issuance of CCWs to those individuals that demonstrate a
legitimate need.  One problem with the current administration is the
appearance of favoritism because Sheriff's Posse members seem to get them,
while similarly situated citizens do not.

I will use a lieutenant or captain to review applicaitons and decide who has
demonstrated adequate need to justify issuing a permit.  I do not generally
believe that flooding public areas with armed citizens will automatically cut
down on crime.  Even as a trained peace officer, I am wary about introducing
my weapon into a conflict whe I am off duty; there are many risks, including
collateral  injuries.

Under my plan, there would not be favoritism, and the policy would treat all
citizens fairly.

I am mindful of the need to protect life and property using reasonable means.
I am also aware that a rationale policy regarding issuing CCWs is somewhere
between the rhetoric of either extreme.  If you have any further questions,
please call 689-7635, and I will be happy to speak with you directly.

Thank you for your inquiry; I look forward to earning your vote.
Scott Jacobs

Quoted:
Some of you guys may remember that sheriff out in the delta who was issuing CCW's in the late 80's and early 90's. The Bay Area media fried him! I think he either quit doing it of got voted out of office. Anyway, the way the San Francisco media spoke of him, one would think he was screwing little boys. He was crucified.

Thank you for your reply.  What guidelines would you use for adequate
need for a CCW license?  Granted, some occupations where people come
into contact with criminals more often or are carrying large amounts of
cash or valuables would certainly apply, as they are prime targets.  

However, criminals can strike anyone at anytime.  This point was
reinforced last night by one of the members of a message board I
frequent.  He was driving home with his girlfriend when he was attacked
by two other vehicles.  After a long chase in which he lost one of the
pursuers, he had to stop after getting stuck at a railroad crossing.
The people in the other vehicle got out of their car and approached him.
Upon presenting his weapon, the two people decided to leave rather than
have a confrontation.  This person did not know the attackers and did
everything he could to avoid this confrontation.  More information on
this can be found at http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?id=91688

In my own view, adequate need boils down to life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness, not just a high-risk job or a specific threat on
someone's life.  People have the right to defend themselves in their own
home.  If they are a responisble, law-abiding citizen, that right should
not end at their front door.

Take me for example.  I've been married four years, have a nice
full-time job in the computer industry and am a homeowner.  I have no
criminal background.  My last traffic ticket was eight years ago.  I
have been shooting firearms for the past six years, with about 15,000
rounds through my primary 9mm pistol, plus several thousand rounds
through my other pistols, rifles & shotguns.  I've taken firearms
training at Frontsight in Nevada and HALO in Concord.  I regularly
participate in Action Pistol competition at the USI range in Concord.  I
do not have a high-risk job or a specific threat on my life.

Based on the criteria above, would I be able to get a CCW under your
guidelines?

Hi Pete, thanks for your email.

first, perhaps it's my coppish training, but your message board sample struck
me as unpersuasive.  road rage is precisely on reason I am reluctant to
enthusiastically support escalating the number of guns in public.  I remember
on inmate telling me about shooting someone during a road rage incident after
the other guy poured a big-gulp on him.  until then, the inmate was a model
citizen.

I wonder where you would go, and what you would do (this is the proverbial
'you', not necessarily 'pete') with a pistol that you do not currently do.  

As far as "responsible law abiding citizens"- even off-duty cops make stupid
decisions involving guns (no need to get into specifics here).

As I review your "criteria", I am not as yet convinced of your need to have a
CCW.  

Thank you for your inquiry.

Would some facts help to persuade you?  This just a sample of some of the statistics from the 1992 FBI Uniform Crime Reports:

The total Violent Crime Rate is 26% higher in the restrictive states (798.3 per 100,000 pop.) than in the less restrictive states (631.6 per 100,000).

Since adopting CCW (1987), Florida's homicide rate has fallen 21% while the U.S. rate has risen 12%. From start-up 10/1/87 - 2/28/94 (over 6 years) Florida issued 204,108 permits; only 17 (0.008%) were revoked because permittees later committed crimes (not necessarily violent) in which guns were present (not necessarily used).

Of 14,000 CCW licensees in Oregon, only 4 (0.03%) were convicted of the criminal (not necessarily violent) use or possession of a firearm.


As far as what "we" would do with a pistol that we currently do, it would be the same as you do when you carry concealed off-duty; grocery shopping, go to the movies, spend time with family & friends, etc.  Carrying a firearm would not turn us into vigilantes looking for trouble.  It would only serve to give us another option, a last-resort, if you had no other choice and were about to suffer grave bodily harm.  

The impression that I am getting from you is that you don't feel I am responsible enough to defend my life with a firearm.  If that's the way you feel, how did you come to that conclusion and why do you feel that way?

By the way, I agree with many of the other positions you have listed on your web site, including having inmates pay rent, removing unecessary restrictions on officer's uniforms and choice of firearms.  However, I feel very strongly about the CCW issue and that is the reason for my inquiries.

Pete, (if I my call you Pete),
in the grand philosophical discussion of who do I trust- I trust people more
than I trust government to make everyday decisions.  Yes, I do trust you to
make the right decision in order to defend your life.  I also think that
seatbelt and motorcycle helmet laws restrcit an individual's freedom of
choice.

Believe it or not, I was just a regular guy before I became a cop.  I could
not really imagine why CCWs should be hard to get.  A part of me still says
hey if good guys hve guns, then bad guys will not have easy victims.  BUT,
theory and reality diverge.  so, while philospohically I may agree with
Florida and Texas community standards with respect to CCWs, as a California
cop, I am hesitant to jump on that bandwagon.

Your stats are interesting, but as an attorney, and bachelor of public
administration, I view statistical arguements skeptically.  Your impression
of my view is not my view. I would be happy to talk on the phone about it
with you- my # is 925-689-7635; call me and we can get into it in greater
depth than an email allows.

Oh, thanks for your support of my 'inmates pay rent' idea.  Placer county
does it already, and they make hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.  
We could recoup millions.