Summary resolution of the Federal suit filed last May 5 against Sacramento Sheriff John McGinness and others, Sykes v. McGinness, was delayed by a September 1 written order from Judge Morrison C. England Jr. His decision gives time to the defendants to determine whether the plaintiffs are qualified to bring the suit, and also waits for a decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, rehearing the case of Nordyke v. King. In the Nordyke case, a gun show operator challenged an Alameda County decision to ban gun shows from using the county fairgrounds to hold shows. The appeals court said that the Second Amendment applied to states, just as most of the other provisions in the Bill of Rig

At a August 28, 2009 public forum in Placerville, four of the seven candidates promised to institute a policy of issuing concealed weapon permits to any residents who take the training and pass a background check, vowing that "self-protection" will be considered adequate "good cause" for requesting a permit.  Those candidates are John D'Agostini, an investigator with the Amador County District Attorney's Office and a former Amador County sheriff's deputy, Larry Hennick, who served 32 years with the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department, Craig Therkildsen, a captain with the Sheriff's Department, and Stan Perez, retired chief of the California Highway Patrol's Valley Division. Three other

At their meeting August 25, 2009, all members of the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a resolution asking "that the duly elected or appointed El Dorado County Sheriff adopt and maintain a fair and equitable “Shall Issue” policy for the issuance of CCW licenses."  The resolution does not have the force of law, but essentially criticizes the Sheriff's recent policy of not recognizing "self protection" as "good cause" to issue a concealed weapons permit to persons otherwise qualified.  The resolution focuses attention on the Sheriff's discretion to issue or deny concealed weapons permits, an issue that begins to loom large in the current race for El Dorado County Sherif

Sheriff John McGuinness may soon begin issuing more concealed weapons permits, if his statements to the board of supervisors and to talk-show host Eric Hogue are to be believed. Currently, on the sheriff's website, he explains that "[t]he mere fear of victimization, or desire to carry a firearm, shall be insufficient good cause to issue a gun carry permit." However, faced with cuts that would require lay-offs of deputies, McGuinness said, "If we wind up with six patrol cars patrolling the entire county of Sacramento, I have no choice but to make some changes in terms of the issuance of concealed weapons permits." (http://hoguenews.com/?p=904) Recently, the sheriffs of Sacramento and Yolo