Seven months after the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional right to bear arms, San Francisco has not issued a single permit to carry a concealed weapon (CCW). Nor has it denied any CCW applications. Licensing officials in the gun-averse city seem to be dragging their feet in anticipation of local or state legislation that would severely restrict the ability to legally carry handguns for self-defense, defying what the Court has said the Second Amendment requires.
In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, decided on June 23, the Court said licensing officials may not require that carry-permit applicants "demonstrate a special need for self-protection distinguishable from that of the general community." Anti-gun legislators in New York and New Jersey responded by eliminating such requirements while imposing new restrictions on obtaining and using CCW permits. San Francisco's strategy fits that general trend of resistance but stands out as especially brazen.
