Things were supposed to get better in “may issue” states like California after the Bruen decision struck down carry regimes that demanded applicants show a justifiable need or “good cause” to carry a gun before they were issued a permit. But while the raw number of concealed carry licensees have increased in jurisdictions like Los Angeles and San Francisco, many gun owners are still waiting for over a year just to have their application processed, and depending on where they live are forced to pay thousands of dollars before they can exercise a fundamental civil right.
Attorney Kostas Moros, who’s the Second Amendment Foundation’s director of legal research and education, recently highlighted another problem with the supposedly “shall issue” regime now in effect in California (as well as other blue states like New Jersey): applicants in some jurisdictions are required to provide licensing authorities with a list of character references who can attest to their moral fortitude and responsible nature in order to obtain a license.
That alone is constitutionally unsound, as Moros pointed out, but it also opens the door for anti-gun locales and licensing officials with attitudes to deny or delay applicants for no good reason.
Where does this fit in to our historical tradition of firearm regulation? pic.twitter.com/Qa0FiMOSzT
— Kostas Moros (@MorosKostas) August 5, 2025
Background investigator in San Mateo County called one of my buddy’s during the reference check. She asked if he could say anything negative about me, if I complain about anything or have personal problems I bring up to him. My buddy couldn’t think of any and mentioned he has only positive things to say. She kept trying to fish for something and wouldn’t let it go, twisting my buddy’s arm. But he got uncomfortable after a while and probably said something to her that might’ve offended her and hung up.
The same day the investigator emailed & called me telling me that I’ve been red flagged because my buddy was rude to her and my application is at jeopardy because my buddy wasn’t forthcoming of any of my complaints. She thought his behavior was unprofessional and said my application can’t proceed until she resolves whatever personal problem she has with him. She demanded that my buddy apologize to her over email so she can have it on record. And she said my application is at risk until this gets addressed. She also wouldn’t accept another reference, only an apology.
Is there any explanation to this? Is she having somekind of power trip? Or is there a rule that my buddy needs to apologize to the investigator if he said something to her that might’ve offended her?
Assuming this anonymous Redditor was telling the truth, the San Mateo Sheriff’s Office has some explaining to do. While the county’s $200 application fee is far less than the $1,000 (or more) some county sheriffs are charging, if applicants can be left in limbo or denied outright because an investigator gets butthurt over a conversation with a character reference (or even the applicant themselves), that’s hardly a “shall issue” system. The applicant may not have to show a good cause to carry a firearm, but they can still be denied for the most arbitrary and capricious of reasons.
In a true “shall issue” system, so long as an applicant passes a background check, provides proof that they’ve completed the required training, and pays the (non-excessive) application fee, they should receive a carry license. In California, though, jurisdictions are allowed to introduce a number of subjective elements to the application process; from the aforementioned character references to a psychological screening. It’s “shall issue” in name only.
The sky-high fees charged by some counties and the excessive wait times seen in places like Los Angeles are currently the subject of federal litigation, but I hope that we’ll also see some of these other provisions challenged in the future. No other constitutionally protected right requires a background check, much less multiple character references, before it can be exercised. The Supreme Court has said that the Second Amendment isn’t a second-class right, but in far too many anti-2A locales it’s still not treated as a right at all… just a privilege doled out by the State.
Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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