A new law in California restricts where concealed carry weapons permit holders can carry guns.
However, in Sutter County, the sheriff and district attorney have stated that they will not strictly enforce the law.
Sutter County Sheriff Brandon Barnes and Sutter County District Attorney Jennifer Dupré emphasized their commitment to protecting citizens’ rights and indicated that they will evaluate cases on an individual basis. (Trending: U.S. State Passes Personal Pronoun Ban)
The district attorney expressed concerns about unintended consequences and clarified that not every case can be charged and prosecuted, particularly if there is a lack of guilt or insufficient evidence.
Barnes and Dupré posted, “We have no interest in criminalizing constitutionally protected behavior. We took an oath to uphold our Constitution and will work to protect the rights of our citizens. This issue is far from being resolved and we are hopeful the courts will rule in favor of our constitution. We will continue to keep our community informed on this important issue.”
“As a Sheriff’s Office, we use discretionary decision-making in our investigations and act in accordance with the spirit of the intended law. As a District Attorney’s Office, we evaluate cases based on the totality of the circumstances and the ability to seek successful prosecution based on the evidence presented to us,” explained the officials.
“The Sutter County Sheriff’s Office and The Sutter County District Attorney’s Office will work collaboratively to evaluate circumstances on a case-by-case basis and do what is in the best interest of justice and our community,” continued the post.
“I think there are so many questions that haven’t been answered. There are so many unintended consequences that might occur,” said Dupré.
“They wanted to know, basically, from my office’s point of view: is there going to be blanket prosecution in every single case?” she continued.
“Somebody was asking me how many cases we’ve had involving people with CCWs, and, granted I’ve only been in office a year, we’ve had zero,” said the prosecutor.
Local residents, including a gun store owner, support the officials’ stance.
Henry Chimes, who owns Union Guns and Gear, said, “Most of the citizens here believe in the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms and carry arms in a lawful manner.”
“Ethically, we cannot prosecute a case in which we either do not believe the suspect is guilty, or do not believe we can convince 12 impartial jurors beyond a reasonable doubt (or both),” said Dupré.
“[W]e wanted to remind the public that not every case can be charged and prosecuted if our evaluation of the case and charges indicate either a lack of guilt or an inability to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt. This applies to SB2 cases as well,” she explained.
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