The Patriot Post® · The Second (Class) Amendment in CA
The Second Amendment is not a second class right, but all too often it is treated as such.
The right to bear arms is recognized primarily to protect free citizens against potential government tyranny — it is the palladium of liberties. But more often in practice it is the right of free citizens to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their property from those who seek to do them wrong. Inherent in the Second Amendment is the right to self-defense.
Los Angeles, California, resident Vince Ricci recently exercised his Second Amendment rights when he was confronted by two armed men outside his house as he returned from working out. Fortunately for Ricci, he had a concealed carry weapon (CCW) permit and was carrying.
Ricci quickly turned the tables on the two attackers as he pulled his firearm and fired, sending the two fleeing. No one was hurt in the firefight, but Ricci was clearly incensed by the situation, and voiced some of his frustration by yelling at LA Police officers who eventually came to investigate the incident.
Evidently, robberies have been a growing problem in the gated community in which Ricci lives; his home was broken into months prior. For Ricci, whose five-month-old child, wife, and nanny were in his house at the time of the attack, his frustration over the LAPD’s apparent lack of action to tackle the crime problem is understandable.
Fortunately, the entire attack and firefight was caught on Ricci’s home security camera, which left no question that he had responded appropriately and within the bounds of the law in defending himself and his family. If it had not been caught on camera, one wonders if Ricci would have found himself in legal hot water with LA’s leftist District Attorney George Gascon.
Yet despite the fact that video proves that Ricci not only properly used his Second Amendment rights but also demonstrated that the CCW permit he had spent months seeking to obtain was fully justified, Ricci was soon notified by the LAPD that his CCW permit had been “temporarily” rescinded.
Ricci believes that the LAPD revoked his permit because he yelled after it took three days for officers to respond and initiate an investigation of the attempted assault and burglary. Furthermore, he accused them of sloppy policing for failing to pick up shell casings at the scene.
The LA county sheriffs department offered a boilerplate response. “We recognize that this incident was extremely traumatic and startling for the Ricci family and we hope the individuals responsible for this crime are arrested and held accountable,” the sheriff’s office stated. “The CCW permit may be immediately reinstated as long as the permit holder has also followed all required CCW policies (i.e. proper notifications, use of properly documented weapon, etc.). The DOJ has been notified and there are avenues for Mr. Ricci to re-apply for his permit. We have been in contact with the Ricci family and have been providing information to them about CCW protocols and guidelines in an effort to ensure their Second Amendment rights are protected.”
That is a classic example of viewing Ricci’s Second Amendment rights as second class. California already makes it extremely difficult for residents to obtain CCW permits, and apparently when a resident actually needs to use his permit in a clear and unequivocal example of justified self-defense, the state quickly rescinds the permit and restarts the hoop process.
The only caveat here is that there may be some yet undisclosed information that provides justifiable rationale to rescind Ricci’s CCW permit. However, thus far nothing caught on his security camera, nor any other reported information justify the state’s actions.