Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/56325
4B Daily News – Friday, February 24, 2012 California gun owners press the case for hidden weapons LOS ANGELES (MCT) — Chuck Michel's strategy for crime-fighting rests on the element of surprise: Keep the bad guys guessing who's armed and who's not. "If 5 percent of the ducks could shoot back, you're not going to go duck hunting," said the Long Beach lawyer repre- senting many Californi- ans denied concealed weapons permits and, in his view, their constitu- tional right to self- defense. For decades, that argu- ment has fallen flat in the courtroom. Judges have routinely held that deny- ing permits to carry loaded firearms in public does not infringe on gun owners' right to keep and bear arms. But now, some gun owners hope that courts will soon reverse course and find that they have a right to secretly tote their weapons in public. Ironi- cally, their optimism stems from a piece of gun control legislation that took effect last month and bans them from openly carrying even unloaded handguns. Courts have upheld local law enforcement officials' authority to deny concealed weapons per- mits in part because "you had the opportunity to openly carry an unloaded weapon and in the event of an emergency you can quickly load and defend yourself," said Adam Winkler, a UCLA law professor and author of "Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America." "Now that option has been taken off the table." Open carrying of an unloaded weapon never satisfied gun rights advo- cates like Michel, who have been challenging _ unsuccessfully _ Califor- nia's ever-tightening restrictions on who can buy guns; what guns are legal; and when, where, how and if weapons can be carried outside the home. The new law, Michel said, has given him the ammunition he needs to win in court. Although gun owners can easily qualify for con- cealed permits in some remote and rural counties, it is all but impossible for residents of densely popu- lated counties, where the majority of Californians live, unless the gun owner can prove an actual threat. "California is a stand- alone where you can't carry an unconcealed and unloaded gun and you can't get a permit to carry one concealed," Michel said, arguing that the state is out of step with at least 40 others that issue con- cealed-carry permits to any applicant with a clean slate. From his law office bedecked with guns, ammo and Old West memorabilia, Michel keeps a close eye on the U.S. Supreme Court and believes the justices are on the lookout for the appropriate right-to-carry case to find a constitution- al right to carry loaded guns for self-protection. The justices issued a watershed ruling in 2008 in the case of Heller v. District of Columbia, rec- ognizing for the first time since Civil War days a cit- izen's right to keep a weapon at home for self- Unpaid bill from years ago leads to hospice gift MURRAY, Ky. (AP) — A Chicago businessman who insisted on paying an unpaid bill dating back some 25 years has instead donated the money to a Kentucky hospital. Zee Enix once ran a home furnishings business in Murray, Ky. He says the man called him and said he wanted to pay a $600 bill he had found. The Paducah Sun reports (http://bit.ly/A5gjN5 ) that Enix told the man — who did not want to be identified — that he didn't owe anything. But the businessman persisted. So Enix agreed that the man could instead make a charity donation to the Murray-Calloway Endowment for Healthcare, which is working to build a hospice. Keith Travis oversees endowments for the Murray- Calloway County Hospital. He says that the gift stands out as unusual. Travis says $1 million has been raised so far for the hospice. ——— Information from: The Paducah Sun, http://www.paducahsun.com protection. Gun rights groups had watched carefully for years to find the most sympathetic plaintiffs to make the point that resi- dents of the crime-ridden national capital were being denied a means of self-defense by the dis- trict's ban on handguns, Winkler said. Two years later, in McDonald v. Chicago, the high court extended that right to the states as well as federal territory. Those seeking recogni- tion of a right to carry guns have petitioned the Supreme Court to review several cases since Heller in which gun owners failed to convince lower courts that their rights were being denied. The justices have so far declined to address the right-to-carry question, probably because those cases involved plaintiffs appealing convictions for illegal firearms posses- sion or denial of carry rights to applicants with stains on their records, Winkler said. Those who support strict gun control say the court deliberately limited its Heller ruling to recog- nize only a right to keep a gun at home. "I expect the Supreme Court to decide as courts around the country have decided in hundreds of cases that there is not a Second Amendment right to carry guns in public places," said Jonathan E. Lowy, legal action direc- tor for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Assemblyman Antho- ny Portantino, who spon- sored the new ban on open carry, likewise brushed off the gun members of the Honorary Deputy Sheriff's Associa- tion, which raises funds for law enforcement. Peruta lost the case, and it is now pending appeal. There is also gross inconsistency among authorities in California's 58 counties on what con- stitutes good cause, which could lead to courts find- ing equal protection vio- lations, said Stephen Hal- brook, a Virginia attorney and frequent litigator for the National Rifle Associ- ation. In remote Plumas lobby's contention that gun control supporters have shot themselves in the foot. "Obviously the pro- gun person is going to look for anything to spin a pro-gun agenda," said the La Canada Flintridge Democrat. "This is a rea- sonable move to close a loophole, and we are con- fident it will stand up in court." Portantino proposed the open-carry ban after gun owners began protest- ing in demand of carry rights by converging by the dozens on coffee shops with Berettas and Smith & Wessons riding on their hips. As concealed-carry permits became more dif- ficult to get, Eduard Peruta, a client of Michel's, took his protest to the courts. A semi-retired investi- gator from San Diego who wanted protection for himself and his wife when they traveled to remote places in their motor home, Peruta applied for a concealed weapons permit but was denied because "general- ized fear for one's person- al safety" doesn't meet county authorities' defini- tion of what amounts to "good cause" to carry a weapon. As do most other popu- lous counties, San Diego requires applicants to demonstrate a specific and verifiable threat to their lives. In his lawsuit, Peruta also accused San Diego County Sheriff William Gore of violating his equal protection rights by issuing concealed-carry permits more liberally to County, one in 39 adults has a carry permit, according to state Depart- ment of Justice statistics for 2011. In Los Angeles County, one in 33,700 adults is licensed to carry, and in San Francisco the latest records show zero civilian holders among the county's 700,000 adults. Statewide, the number of civilians with con- cealed weapons permits is 32,666, or 0.1 percent of the adult population. That compares with about 5 percent licensed to carry nationwide, according to Calguns Foundation chief Gene Hoffman. Halbrook says Peruta and a handful of other carry challenges from California could eventual- ly get the justices' atten- tion, along with a lawsuit by a 71-year-old Illinois woman beaten and left for dead in a 2009 robbery of her church treasury office. The woman, Mary Shep- ard, had sought and been denied a carry permit. "You always want to put your best foot for- ward," Halbrook said of the strategy that succeed- ed in Heller. Man charged after cooking own meal at Denny's MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Police say a Wisconsin man took the Denny's restaurant chain slogan ''American's diner is always open'' too far, marching into one of the restaurants, announcing he was the new boss and cooking himself dinner. James Summers walked into a Madison Denny's on Tuesday dressed in a maroon tie and black trench coat and carrying a briefcase, according to police. He strode into the manager's office, told her he was the new general manager and then fixed himself a burg- er, fries and a soda before police arrived. ''This is why you don't dine and dash, kiddies,'' Summers yelled out to diners as officers took him away, police said in a release. Police found a stun gun in a hip holster under his coat and crack pipes in his briefcase, a criminal com- plaint showed. Prosecu- tors charged him Wednes- day with disorderly con- duct and possession of drug paraphernalia, both misdemeanors, and felony possession of an electron- ic weapon. According to the com- plaint and the police news release, Summers, 52, entered the Denny's and found restaurant manager Tracy Brant counting out the day's receipts in a back office. He announced he was her new general manager and would be starting work that evening. Brant challenged him, saying corporate head- quarters hadn't notified her of any new general manager. She suggested he had the wrong restau- rant. But Summers main- tained his story, growing more confrontational after Brant told him she didn't believe him. He told her he was starting and that was final, investigators said in the complaint. She was able to get Summers out of the office and close her door. She called a hiring manager who confirmed Summers didn't work for Denny's. While she was on the phone, her cooks knocked on the door and told her Summers had prepared himself a meal. He was in the middle of eating when Brant confronted him again. She told him he didn't work for Denny's and he had to leave. Summers shot back that he had worked for Denny's for 30 years and Brant wasn't going to tell him he couldn't work there. When Brant asked him how he planned to pay for his $10 meal, he told her he wouldn't — and couldn't — pay. Brant called 911. Police found Summers as he was walking across the restaurant parking lot. He told officers that he had an alcohol and drug addiction, according to the complaint. Summers' initial court appearance was Wednes- day. Court records show a public defender represent- ed him. A spokesman for the state public defender's office declined comment Thursday, saying the office won't represent Summers as the case pro- gresses. A Denny's employee referred calls to a Denny's area manager, who didn't immediately return a mes- sage left by The Associat- ed Press. A manager told a reporter who visited the Madison restaurant Thursday afternoon no one would comment. Summers is due back in court March 6 for a pre- liminary hearing. Ky. precinct decides alcohol sales with coin flip OWENSBORO, Ky. (AP) — One area in Kentucky D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY still won't be able to buy alcohol — a decision made by the flip of a coin. A vote held Wednesday on whether to allow alcohol sales in the Graham Precinct in Daviess County ended with a 21-21 tie. So officials flipped a half-dollar coin to decide the issue, and the Messenger-Inquirer news- paper reports (http://bit.ly/ysEd1c) it came up tails. David Osborne, the county clerk, said the election's outcome was ''unprecedented'' in an issue vote. The county has 65 precincts where alcohol sales are legal and 17 where they are not. Oh Snap! The Daily News wants redbluffdailynews.com/jobs your photos: Cute kids, Adorable pets, Inspirational sights, Any shot you think readers would enjoy You might just see it in the Daily News Send pictures to editor@redbluffdailynews.com or drop off at 545 Diamond Ave. in Red Bluff. Include a caption.