Sheriffs in San Diego and Yolo counties use California’s requirement that citizens show “good cause” for bearing arms to deny nearly all applications for permits—a policy NRA has challenged, and won, a preliminary court battle over in the Ninth Circuit.
In a July 3 op-ed, The New York Times defended the sheriffs, saying they “properly argued that public safety was ultimately at stake and applicants needed to cite more than their concerns about their own safety …”
Acknowledging neighboring California sheriffs who grant permits, the Times then writes, “That hardly justifies scuttling the right and duty of other communities to determine what is necessary for their citizens’ safety.”
Actually, that’s exactly what it does. In California (and every other state), permit bearers have proven themselves trustworthy. So now the burden is on the Times to justify their distrust of lawful Americans. Tell us, Times, what threat to public safety do we pose?
