In O.C., Gun Carriers of All Calibers

They include physicians and jewelers, firearms dealers and judges--and they all have been granted the right to carry a concealed weapon in Orange County, according to newly released records.

Of the 131 citizens issued such permits in the last year, roughly a fourth are public officials and public employees, some of whom said they felt threatened in part because of their jobs.

One is Orange City Manager David L. Rudat. He said he applied this year for a concealed weapons permit with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department after he had received threats against his life and sought restraining orders against unnamed people because of “personnel issues.”

It’s been a rough year in Orange, where $6 million to $8 million in city recycling revenue disappeared, the police chief was fired while investigating the loss, and the district attorney’s office is examining whether Rudat had a conflict of interest with the city’s longtime trash hauler.

The permit allows Rudat to pack his Smith & Wesson 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistol and a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver.

“I’m no different from any number of people who feel that having a license to carry a weapon now and then is important for personal safety,” Rudat said Friday.

Rudat is in select company. The records released by the Sheriff’s Department indicate that Sheriff Brad Gates--who has sole authority to issue such permits in the county--has been stingy with them, at least by comparison with some of the state’s larger counties. For instance, while Orange County issued concealed weapons permits at a rate of 2.44 per 100,000 residents, the comparable number for San Diego County is 55 per 100,000 residents. To the north in Los Angeles County, there are roughly six permits per 100,000 residents.

Among the others in Orange County who hold permits are San Juan Capistrano Councilwoman Collene Campbell, who is active in the victims’ rights movement after her brother, racing promoter Mickey Thompson, and her son were killed in separate incidents.

Campbell said she has a permit because whoever killed her brother and his wife still haven’t been brought to justice. She said she can handle guns--and is a “darn good shot”--because she grew up the daughter of a police officer who was a three-time state champion marksman.

“When I was a child, I was on the [firing] range shooting with law enforcement officers,” she said. “I’ve always felt very comfortable with a gun. God knows, I’d never want to use one because I had to.”

Other public officials and government employees on the list include Dist. Atty. Mike Capizzi and newly elected Superior Court Judge Stephen Sundvold.

Nongovernmental workers with permits include a police sketch artist, a locksmith, a jewelry importer, a teacher, a rare-coin dealer and a bloodhound trainer who said he carries guns because he’s on call round-the-clock to respond to crime scenes where his dogs are needed to sniff for suspects and evidence.

And then there are people like the longtime educator and administrator from Cypress who got a permit because his job is in a high-crime area of Los Angeles.

While he has never had to use the gun, he said Friday that he’s realistic about protecting himself.

“I need it,” said the retired school principal who works as an educational consultant for adult night schools. “I think if you need it, you should have it. I’ve taken all kinds of training. I really recommend that everyone have some training if they have a permit.”

State law gives county sheriffs the authority to issue concealed weapons permits on condition that the person applying “is of good moral character, that good cause exists for the issuance, and that the person applying is a resident of the county or a city within the county.”

With a permit, a person can carry a revolver, which generally holds five or six rounds of ammunition, or a pistol, which can carry upward of 12 rounds. Revolvers and pistols are classified by the size of the round, not the size of the gun, meaning that they vary in size but still can be concealed.

The permit process in Orange County includes a nearly 40-page application, a criminal and psychological background check, a firearms safety inspection and proof that the applicant is qualified at a firing range to use the weapon. The permit is good for one year from the date it was issued.

Gates personally makes the final call on whether the applicant truly needs the weapon for personal protection, sheriff’s Capt. Harry Gage said. The department also examines whether other methods might be used for protection other than guns.

One of those who went through the process in the past is a gun store manager who said Gates is far more restrictive than law enforcement officials elsewhere.

“You have to have a highly compelling reason to get a permit here, and you’re only allowed two guns,” he said.

The gun store manager said the public holds a mistaken impression that weapons permits are handed out as political favors. Getting one “is a grueling process” that includes testimony by police officers that the applicant indeed is physically threatened, he said.

Sheriff-elect Mike Carona made weapons permits a campaign issue, charging not that they were handed out to political cronies but that people with permits in other jurisdictions were denied them by Gates.

Carona said Friday that the process shouldn’t be that subjective--that everyone who qualifies under state law should get one as long as they demonstrate a need for it, display competency with the weapon and pay for the costs of issuing the permit.

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Permission to Carry

Orange County is far stingier with concealed weapons permits than other California counties.

Orange County Permits

1995: 131

1996: 146

1997: 155

1998: 65*

* 1998 figures are for those renewed or issued so far this year. The current total of active permits (those issued after July 10, 1997) is 131. Permits are renewed on anniversary date.

1998 Comparison by County

Orange 65 2.44 permits per 100,000: 2,659,300

Contra Costa 200 22.74 permits per 100,000: 879,200

Los Angeles 550 5.79 permits per 100,000: 550

San Diego 1,500 55.06 permits per 100,000: 1,500

Note: Based on state population estimates for 1997.

How to Get a Permit

Any Orange County resident who wants to carry a concealed weapon must apply for a permit through the Sheriff’s Department, undergo a thorough background check and pay a $78 fee, most of which goes to the state. The permits are good for one year.

Sources: Individual sheriff’s departments; Researched by JEAN O. PASCO and GREG HERNANDEZ / Los Angeles Times