A lot goes into revoking a concealed weapons license.

To get a license in California to carry a concealed carry weapon, known as a CCW, a member of the public has to do a few things. They must complete a firearms safety training course of at least eight hours (this requirement is relatively new, the result of a 2018 state law); in Monterey County, pay a fee of $138 to the county Sheriff’s Office, the agency that processes CCW licenses; go through interviews and a background check; and the applicant must prove they are “of good moral character” and prove there is “good cause” for them to carry a concealed weapon.

How to define “good cause” is clearly open for interpretation. Sheriff Steve Bernal’s written interpretation is: “In my opinion, ‘personal protection’ should suffice to establish the good cause standard.”

On this, Marina Police Chief Tina Nieto – who is the frontrunner in the election to replace Bernal – agrees. “I would not change the current process,” she says. “This is what’s been working in Monterey County. We haven’t had a problem with people with CCWs committing crimes. The problem in this county is people with illegal weapons committing gun violence.”

But this criteria might be about to change, with the U.S. Supreme Court expected to issue a ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. The case challenges New York’s requirement that “proper cause” be demonstrated to qualify for concealed weapons license, similar to California’s “good cause” standard. While it’s hard to imagine that there’s a lower standard than “personal protection” – which includes potential defense from a hypothetical future threat – no standard would be it.

The court may be about to go that way. Citing the pending Bruen decision, California’s acting director of the Bureau of Firearms, Allison Mendoza, sent a letter to California law enforcement agencies on June 1, advising them to be ready. “First, law enforcement agencies that issue licenses to carry firearms in public should prepare for the possibility of a significant increase in applications,” Mendoza wrote. “Second, law enforcement agencies should also prepare for the possibility of new lawsuits seeking to limit or challenge their discretion or authority in the issuance of public-carry licenses.”

It’s good news that lawmakers in Washington are finally grappling with the reality of gun violence. (See this week’s cover stories, starting on p. 24.) But this pending case, and states’ implementation of its outcome, is a reminder that there is a lot of nuance to gun regulation.

Locally, there is one less concealed weapon license out there, for a retired Marina police officer, as of Aug. 19, 2021. It’s much easier for retired law enforcement officers to get licenses to carry concealed weapons than the regular public – they have already been trained. But Toney Canty’s license was revoked after he was charged in San Benito County in 2018 with false imprisonment and subject to two restraining orders, according to records obtained by the Weekly via a Public Records Act request. After the charges against Canty were dropped, he requested Marina PD reinstate his CCW card. Nieto declined. “It’s based on the preponderance of evidence,” she says.

In a relatively rare process, Canty appealed. His case went to a three-person panel – with one member selected by him (Officer Ronaldo Rhodes), one selected by Marina (CSUMB Police Chief Earl Lawson) and one mutually agreed upon (Father Jon Perez of Epiphany Lutheran & Episcopal Church in Marina). The board determined there was good cause not to reinstate Canty’s authorization to carry a concealed weapon – a decision that is binding. Canty declined to be interviewed for this story, but in emails wrote that he believes the decision was based on systemic racism; he is Black.

Nieto is frustratingly vague on the question of whether more guns lead to more safety, a classic talking point from the NRA. “I can’t say I agree or disagree. I would say, look at the science. I don’t think the science is there that says it makes us safer. I think it’s just a tagline.”

What we do know is that even with all the protocols and processes in place, people die from gun violence every day in America. And nobody, in Washington or in Monterey County, has a plan that would come close to stopping that.

SARA RUBIN is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at sara@mcweekly.com.