John has a great rundown on the new San Francisco carry law. Go read the whole thing. Here’s the bottom line:
The cost for the permit, the fingerprinting, the psychological test, and the firearms testing and qualification test is $2,607 for first time applicants and there is no refund of any of it if they deny you anywhere in the process.
I don’t think I dropped 2 grand on my first gun total kit including all the Massachusetts permitting hoops, as well as my club membership as well as first-time member dues, a used 1911, cleaning kit, safety gear and a half-case of cheap .45 ACP ammo…tho it was a bit close as I do the math in my head.
Furthermore its restricted to guns by certain manufacturers, no cocked-and-locked carry (seriously? Idiots!) and the guns MUST be in .45 ACP, .40 S&W, 9x19mm, or .38 Special. So that can close a LOT of doors. No .380 Auto pocket guns, no 1911s, nothing by certain companies that make more affordable guns like Bersa, or Charter Arms, or Kel-Tec. They have the dumb restrictions on what GLOCK trigger pack you must use (but say nothing about say a Kahr or S&W or XD trigger….tho I wonder if they consider guns like the Walther PPS or the Springfield XD “Cocked and Locked” guns).
Further for the range qualification the qual needs to be done on EACH of the guns you want to carry with. So if for me my S&W1911Sc is verboten so I’d have to switch to a Kahr TP45, and I’d also have to re-qualify with my S&W642. No word if say Jay’s Snubbie would be out because its chambered in .357 Magnum, or if he’d just be required to stoke the charge-holes with .38s…same could be said about the Ruger SP101 which is a nice little carry gun, but its a .357, can you carry it with .38s or do you need to get a gun that can only feed .38s?) Also I’ve occasionally carried my wifes S&W638, its a different gun that the 642, but only in the hammer style, and frankly in running of the gun the two are identical, would I need to run the course again?
Furthermore they make you shoot on the SF LE Silhouette target which by this catalogue measures 33″ tall and 18″ wide, and they make you reach out to 25 yards. How many defensive pistol shootings happen at 25 yards? I’m sure there are a few out there, but honestly I’m betting those instances are at hens teeth level of rarity, even if you open up the sample to include law enforcement shootings.
Another thing I noticed was they talk about a “Snapped or locked holster”, meaning they further require your holster to have a retention device. Not sure if the holster also needs to be on the qualifier, certainly the DeSantis Nemesis I carry my J-Frame in won’t count for the test, so my pocket carry might be illegal, or at least I’d need to buy some sort of retention holster JUST to qualify the gun. I’ll also note that I carry my 1911 in a Glaco Miami Classic II shoulder holster which does have a thumb-break strap on it, but I can’t get that rig for the TP45, not sure if anybody makes a good shoulder rig for the TP45…
Not sure what costs are one-time-only, and what must be forked over for each running of the test. But let’s drop the $2600 for a one-time permit issuance, then factor in a $50 Retention holster, and $600 for a TP45, or similar qualifying gun, we’re looking at $3250, and that’s NOT counting club membership or range fees, as well as ammo, safety gear, cleaning kits, storage devices et al, and You aren’t going to be able to drive from the gun shop to the range and expect to score many hits on target drawing from a retention holster at 25 yards.
John’s point is correct, they’re being forced by the courts to allow for Carry permits for residents dumb enough to live in San Francisco, so they made a system so onerous and expensive only the most wealthy and dedicated shooters will even BOTHER to START the process let alone complete it. Furthermore what if you’re a shooter of modest experience and you’ve decided you want to start carrying in San Francisco, you log your range time and take your classes et al, but when you get to the range on test day you get a case of the jitters and score a few misses at the 25 yard target. Try again, buddy and put another dollar in! Maybe you’re now tapped out in cash because you just blew your emergency rent money on the course and gun, or maybe you just give up.
That’s the point. Meanwhile in AMERICA people can live in states where permits aren’t required for carry (some for all carry, others for open carry only) furthermore there are plenty of states who just want to see an application and a check for their troubles, and don’t require you to do any mandatory training. In all these places there are NO statistical differences between states that do this anal-probe bullshit to all applicants.
Furthermore does the SFPD have to run a course of fire like this, and are they restricted to only guns on that list? Are you telling me there are no detectives that carry a pocket .380 in a pocket holster or a deep concealment holster without retention? Not that qualifications matter to SFPD.
San Francisco is PUNISHING you for wanting to exercise your 2nd Amendment rights. Remember that!
**UPDATE** Have a look at this comment from Brandon Combs of Calguns, he gives the breakdown of the fees. Like the Qualification test that costs $1,722, and that does NOT include ammo fees! Still more egregious is “Psychological assessment” and “$1Million insurance”. Disgusting.
Furthermore this is for a ONE YEAR permit! It seems they’re playing the same game Massachusetts does with their non-resident permits. Here in Mass you can’t get a carry permit if you live in some towns, you can in others. If you live out of state tho, the permitting system is essentially “Shall Issue” (the same “May issue” rules apply but when the issuing body is the Massachusetts state police they don’t bother to harass the lawful) still the permit needs to be applied for in person in Chelsea Mass which is not one of the best areas of the state, requires the same training class, $100 fee, and photographing and fingerprinting, and it is good for ONE YEAR!
For those of you who carry think of how many non-resident permits you have. Now think of how it would change the way you live and carry if they needed to be applied for and renewed in person, and were only valid for 1 year.
Needless to say Mass has VERY few Non-resident permit holders. That’s the whole point!
