Posted on 08/10/2004 10:59:56 AM PDT by 45Auto
Patricia Cantrall, nicknamed the "Annie Oakley of Modoc County," straps her .38 backward on her left hip. "I prefer the cross draw," said the gregarious 65-year-old county supervisor and part-time cafe waitress.
Cantrall and about 270 fellow residents of this sparsely populated corner of northeastern California routinely carry concealed handguns. When it comes to packing heat — at least legally — no other county in the state surpasses Modoc.
According to state Department of Justice statistics, about one in 29 residents here has a concealed-weapons permit. That compares with one in 800 residents for the rest of the state.
Modoc County issues almost as many permits as Los Angeles County — which has more than 50 times more people. Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca has approved only 377 permits, mostly for judges, prosecutors, public defenders and retired federal agents.
Modoc County Sheriff Bruce Mix says he feels comfortable with the high number of guns because he knows most of the county's 9,400 residents.
"I pretty much know who is reliable and who is not," said Mix, 57, the head lawman and coroner here since 1988.
Besides, Mix said, he doesn't have enough deputies to adequately patrol the vast reaches of woods, desert and lava fields that cover the county's 3,944 square miles.
Mix said he believes everybody who lives in his county has a constitutional right to self-protection. But bearing arms here appears to have little to do with fear of crime or violent confrontations with humans.
Often, said Undersheriff Mark Gentry, people seek to arm themselves before venturing to large California cities. "Someone will come in," said Gentry, "and say, 'I'm going to San Diego, I need a gun.' "
The motto of Alturas, the county seat, is "Where the West Still Lives."
(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.trb.com ...
Corruption of public officials is endemic with regard to CCW issuance in California.
For the people whos lives are important. And, I thought it was a pain getting my Connecticut CCW.
I wonder how many people he's sent from one job to the other. He could be his own best customer. He stabs 'em and slabs 'em. LOL!
...just like the old system in MN about 2 years ago
(in the metro areas)
Congress quietly passed a bill last week making it legal for active and retired police officers from any jurisdiction to carry a gun anywhere in the US. This is predicted to put 100,000 more armed citizens on the public streets. More Guns-Less Crime? Apparently Congress has, to some extent, seen the light.
How's that going in MN anyway? I hear that some judge decided he was more important than the legislature and ruled the new shall issue law 'unconstitutional'...
??
ping
If the dems were in charge, the bill wouldn't have seen the light of day.
Speaking of which, as a Californian, do you have an update on Jim March's lawsuit challenging the current discretionary CCW permitting process?
First we had nothing. Our bare knuckles.
Then we started hitting each other with rocks.
Then sticks to get some distance.
Then we tied sharp rocks to sticks.
Then copper and bronze knives.
Then swords.
Now handguns.
A handgun is most effective for close in, point blank, knock down and kill your enemy situations. They are THE single best deterrent for the common street criminal looking for an easy score or the rapist looking to get one up on a smaller target.
That some in our government see them as an inherently "evil" thing says more about their mindset than it does about the responsible law abiding gun owner's mindset.
Worth repeating.
'Head lawman and coroner' may not be describing two different jobs but expanding on the single title of coroner. Traditionally the coroner is the supreme officer of a county.
"A handgun is most effective for close in, point blank, knock down and kill your enemy situations. They are THE single best deterrent for the common street criminal looking for an easy score or the rapist looking to get one up on a smaller target."
This might be an even better deterrent, but would be harder to conceal than a handgun:
http://www.serbu.com/shorty.htm
:)
I don't know what, if anything, is happening with Jim March; his website was last updated September 2003 and his blog-site can no longer be accessed. He said he was going to be a "field representative" for the Citizen's Committee for the RKBA, but a visit to their site does not mention him. He seems to have dropped off the radar screen.
I'd love to get one of those. I'm still waiting for some brave firearms engineer to come up with an autoloader chambered for S&W .500. Wheel guns are fine, but I got hooked on the auto's with my little Tarus 92 9mm.
Also, that's an AOW and you've got to keep the paperwork with you at all times.
Be mindful it didn't have to come to this. Unlike wars of the past, the government sought to exclude common citizens from participating in the War on Terrorism. The government seeks to protect itself and corporate "citizens", at the expense of common citizens. The lone call for help from the government following 9-11 was for citizens to spend money. Even citizen volunteers were shown the door in the 9-11 rescue and recovery efforts. Lacking were calls for a renewed, voluntary civil defense and service. Instead, a new civil defense was instated that included citizens by invitation only. To add insult to injury, the government passed the Patriot Act that potentially views everyone, the common citizen and suspect terrorist as equals. With these acts, the government severed ties with common citizens.
Had the government sought civilian participation, the eyes and ears of tens of millions of citizens would be assisting in the War on Terrorism.
Of course, the Undersheriff is not handing out guns, he is issuing concealed carry permits. It's ironic that a resident of Modoc County can easily get a permit to carry a gun which must be recognized in Los Angeles but the residents there have virtually zero chances of being granted a permit for them to carry in Modoc County.
Kalifornia's county-level "good cause" CCW system is not only corrupt but obviously denies equal treatment to the citizenry.
45Auto didn't say what I quoted. It was from the article he posted. Sorry.
True. In rural counties, you can get shall-issue CCW permits as a matter of course. Modoc actually as the equivalent of Alaska style "open carry" when it comes to guns. In urban counties, you can get a CCW permit if you're a friend of the sheriff, or if you have political or business connections to get one approved - in other words, you have to be one of the Elite to carry there.
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