Repost: An Open Letter to Hawthorne Police Chief Stephen Port 2

Here's a post I wrote almost two years ago after my first application for a permit to carry a concealed weapon was rejected -- in my opinion, illegally. I suppose it comes across as rather harsh, especially considering that my police department does a generally excellent job protecting my community, but I was pretty upset about the unjust abridgement of my rights. Still am, to tell the truth.

Chief Port:

My name is Michael Williams, and I live in the city of Hawthorne, California. You recently reviewed and denied my application for a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

I am 26 years old, and have no criminal record of any sort. I have never been a party in a lawsuit, I have never been arrested, and I have not been in a fight since age 10. I have never been in a courtroom or appeared in front of a judge. I do not drink, I do not use drugs, and I have no psychological or mental problems that could cause me to act dangerously or irrationally. I am gainfully employed as an engineering consultant at Boeing Satellite Systems, and I own my own home. I am a Ph.D. candidate at UCLA, and serve actively in my local church.

As you are aware, there are a great many people in the city of Hawthorne and the surrounding communities who carry concealed handguns and have never bothered to go to their police chief to ask permission. I have no doubt that you and your officers encounter such people on a daily basis, and that you can attest to the fact that withholding permits from law-abiding citizens does nothing to prevent criminals from carrying weapons themselves. As you are aware, men and women intent on committing felonies are not concerned with obeying state laws on concealed carry.

On the other hand, I have a great respect for the law. I followed every appropriate procedure in my application for a permit to carry a concealed weapon. I provided you with an exemplary "good cause" statement, which unfortunately I cannot make available here, as it would compromise my safety. I went to the police station twice to obtain and return the application, and I waited at the DMV for two hours in order to get you a copy of my most recent driving record. I studied for the required Handgun Safety Certification test and passed with a perfect score. I purchased my handgun legally from a federally licensed dealer, and provided you with the serial number. I disclosed to you my place of residence, my occupation, the details of my employment, and every other piece of information required by law.

And yet, after all that, you denied my application for a CCW without giving any reason or justification -- nothing but a verbal notification. None of the criminals who carry weapons illegally and have the power to directly threaten my life and the lives of my friends and family have followed any of these procedures, and nothing substantial prevents them from carrying.

Nothing you or your officers can do will protect me if I am faced with an armed assailant, because no assailant will assault me in your presence. It is little comfort to me that you may possibly catch him after the fact, because I'll already be kidnapped, injured, or dead. By your direct and individual action you have withheld from me the power to defend my own life, and have forced me to become a victim-in-waiting for anyone with criminal intentions. You have condemned me to be the prey of every miscreant, thug, gangster, drug dealer, robber, kidnapper, and outlaw our society produces. By the very fact that I respect the law, you have enslaved me to the worst of humanity. Does your wife carry a concealed weapon, or do you send her out to the wolves defenseless as well?

You had complete legal discretion over my application, and if any evil is perpetrated against me my blood will be on your hands. If I am attacked and wounded, be assured that you will receive a call from me as soon as I am able to hold a phone. If I am killed my family will notify you, and I hope you will remember this letter.

You have robbed me of my dignity, and consigned me walk the streets in perpetual weakness and fear.

Indignantly,
Michael Williams

Update:
I'm considering filing a Freedom of Information Act request for documentation of all the CCWs the Hawthorne Police Department has issued for the past five years. Here's the letter I have so far, which I built from a template at the excellent site: www.equalccw.com.

Update 2:
Further adventures.