The issue will be addressed

Edward Peruta · Oct 6, 2007

imported post

THANK YOU KAREN TORRE, AND THE CONNECTICUT LAW TRIBUNE FOR REPORTING THIS ISSUE.

THE HARTFORD COURANTMAY HAVE A SIMILARSTORY ON MONDAY OCTOBER 8TH.

Commentary: Gun Permit Delays Intolerable
Connecticut Law Tribune
Monday, October 08, 2007
Copyright 2007, ALM Properties, Inc.

Gun Permit Delays Intolerable

By KAREN LEE TORRE

There has been a spike in state residents enrolling in gun safety classes, a prerequisite for a permit. (Can you blame them — they live in a state which unleashes convicts.) According to a recent federal action, they can expect to have their constitutional rights trammeled by the state. Assigned to U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant, the complaint alleges a pattern of abuses by Connecticut State Police (CSP) officials bent on frustrating citizens' rights. It seeks class action status and injunctive relief for all those ensnared in CSP's purported hostility to private gun ownership.

The allegations are serious enough without considering they're coming from the inside. The plaintiff is M. Peter Kuck, a member of the Board of Firearms Examiners (BFE), the very body that decides appeals from citizens denied a permit. Kuck offers a unique glimpse inside a rebellious law enforcement bureaucracy that won't respect the law.

The CSP role is to process applications, oversee criminal record checks and timely advise applicants of a decision. (State law disqualifies all convicted of felonies and other serious offenses as well as those who were committed to a mental institution.) Those denied a permit have a right to a de novo hearing before the BFE. Remarkably, the CSP won't disclose to applicants the basis for denial, and worse yet, plays games with the duty to disclose the reasons to the BFE.

Kuck cites a huge backlog of appeals caused by the CSP's deliberate withholding from the BFE of required documentation needed to decide them. State auditors found that over a period of six years, the average wait time for a hearing went from three months to an unconscionable 17-20 months. According to Kuck, CSP officials, aware that many denials are lawless and likely to be overturned, obstruct the Board's functioning by stall tactics calculated to delay the granting of permits for as long as possible. In the interim, law-abiding citizens are denied the right to protect their families against criminals whose own rights always manage to dominate liberals' warped priorities.

Kuck asserts this state of affairs violates citizens' rights to a meaningful and prompt hearing. He joined the victims. Himself a permit-holder up for renewal, Kuck challenged a CSP demand for a birth certificate or passport. Denied renewal, Kuck's hearing was scheduled 17 months later.

While Kuck flags a good due process issue, I believe this entire regulatory scheme flies in the face of the state constitution which contains one of the clearest guarantees in the nation: "Every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state." For decades, legislators and bureaucrats have gotten away with regulating this freedom out of existence.

A college text which greatly influenced my views about government addressed "the politics of bureaucracy." Among its premises was the inevitability of the dynamics of self-interest overtaking the bureaucrat. Agency process is molded and manipulated over time such that laws and constitutions are effectively amended by the unelected operating in the shadows of cubicles. Accomplished by accretion, the public is largely unaware that its prerogative of self-government has been hijacked by munchkins. Kuck's complaint illustrates the dynamic.

Despite the "Brady Bunch" rhetoric, gun control is really about the state insuring against an effective revolt against tyranny. Hitler understood this — gun control was one of his first measures. He preferred that when the time came, Jews would be constrained to throw rocks at the Gestapo.

The drafters of Connecticut's constitution, the product of brave men who bore arms against their own government, would be aghast at this subversion of an unambiguous text. If the public wants all these restrictions, they can amend the document. Until then, courts must intercede against constitutional amendment by bureaucratic stealth. Judge Bryant is new to the federal bench but she has hit the ground running, productively punching out rulings despite probably not having all her furniture yet. She is not wasting time. She should waste no time giving serious attention to this matter. •

Edward Peruta · Oct 8, 2007

imported post

Courant.com
Grief Over Gun Permits
Delays In Renewals, Appeals Lead To Suit
By TRACY GORDON FOX

Courant Staff Writer

October 8, 2007

James Goldberg was never in trouble with the law, never even had a traffic ticket. And he had no difficulty obtaining a gun permit to carry a pistol to his job as night manager of a liquor store for protection.

So when Glastonbury police seized Goldberg's gun and revoked his permit - following his arrest on charges of breach of peace June 21 at Chili's restaurant after an employee complained about seeing the gun under his T-shirt - friends and family, even the Wethersfield police chief who signed off on the gun permit, figured it was a misunderstanding that would be quickly corrected.

The misdemeanor charge was dismissed about a month later in Superior Court in Manchester, leaving Goldberg, 29, with a clean record. But he will have to wait until May 14, 2009, for a hearing before the Board of Firearms Permit examiners, a civilian board that hears appeals on revoked or denied gun permits.

Goldberg, who has hired an attorney and plans to file a federal lawsuit over the delay, is not alone.

In fact, M. Peter Kuck, secretary of the Board of Firearms Permit Examiners, who was appointed by Gov. M. Jodi Rell for the firearms permit board, has filed his own federal lawsuit against the state police, saying that even he could not have his permit renewed in a timely manner. He cites an average delay of 17 to 20 months and sometimes up to three years that he and others have to wait for a hearing.

Kuck blames the State Police Special License and Firearms unit for mismanagement, arrogance and attempting to create its own laws on gun permits. The unit, composed of troopers, is responsible for the issuance of state pistol permits, oversight and regulation of firearm sale transactions, and issuance of licenses.

When a permit has been denied or revoked by police, a gun owner can go before the seven-member civilian board of firearms permit examiners, a kind of last resort to get a permit. About 300 cases are brought to the board each year. The case load increased dramatically after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to records.

Both Kuck and Goldberg are claiming a violation of due process rights for citizens seeking gun permits, a frustrating problem that has in some cases put careers on hold as people wait for months to get a hearing before the review board.

Even though Kuck is one of those board members responsible for the permits of others, he cannot get his own permit renewed until he goes for a hearing Nov. 13, 2008.

"It is not only him, but a lot of people, and we don't even know how many at this point," said Rachel Baird, Kuck's attorney. "It is clear that his due process rights were being violated."

"Since the complaint has been filed, additional information has come to light that will require amending the complaint and adding new defendants," Baird said.

Standing up for his civil rights has not made Kuck popular with the board. He recently learned that there has been an attempt to remove him from the board because his actions were costing the state money.

"We have tried to involve the governor's office to have him removed, but the statutes [on appointments] tie their hands," Susan Mazzoccoli, executive director of the civilian board, wrote in an e-mail to an employee of another state agency.

Abuse Of Power?

Scott Hoffman, owner of Hoffman's Gun Center in Newington, said the waiting time and hassles are a constant complaint with his customers.

"There is no due process," Hoffman said, adding that the state police firearms unit is understaffed and under-funded to do the job. "It's nuts, completely nuts."

He said he is glad that two gun owners are finally taking the state and the review board to task. "It's like fighting city hall. It's a very hard thing to do. You have to have the money and the stomach to do it."

Kuck, a member of the Ye Connecticut Gun Guild Inc., submitted his application to the Department of Public Safety to renew his permit on March 19, prior to its April 16 expiration date. But state police demanded that he submit a birth certificate or U.S. passport for the renewal, saying one of those forms of ID have been required for renewal since Sept. 11, 2001.

Kuck claims the state police firearms unit has abused its authority by punishing gun owners with long delays and implementing policies that have no basis in law. Kuck says the Department of Public Safety "caused the backlog of cases by not reviewing, processing, and preparing the appeal cases in a reasonable and timely manner for the board's review," according to the suit.

According to Goldberg, he left his job as the night manager of a liquor store on June 21, and went to the takeout section of Chili's to wait for his order. He was wearing camouflage pants and a T-shirt that covered the weapon, which showed when he went to reach for his wallet. An employee became alarmed and called police.

Officers arrived and pushed Goldberg against the wall, while customers and wait staff watched. Goldberg, the soft-spoken son of a 30-year police veteran, said he calmly told the officers he had a permit to carry. They checked it out and found that he did. But because the waitress was alarmed he was arrested for breach of peace. While Connecticut law is silent on concealment of a weapon, many police officers believe the weapon must be hidden from view because of the alarm it causes.

"I have no problems with the officers' actions with regard to the incident," Glastonbury Police Chief Thomas Sweeney said.

But Goldberg, who was working toward becoming an executive security specialist and who would carry a gun as part of the job, said, "This whole situation is making me sick to my stomach. I can't go forward in my career."

State police acknowledge the delay and say they have made some changes. They deny the firearms unit has done anything wrong.

"I will say generically we disagree with the allegations in the complaint, and we expect it will be handled by the attorney general's office," Public Safety Commissioner John A. Danaher III said. "Our people are doing their job correctly."

Lt. J. Paul Vance, a state police spokesman, said guns are not arbitrarily seized, but are taken for good reason. He said the state police must provide information to the civilian board, which hold hearings "that are like a mini trial."

"They are a volunteer board. They can only hear so many cases."

Number Of Appeals Rising

From July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2006, there were 329 appeals filed to the civilian board. Between 2006 and 2007 during the same period, there were 338 cases. This year, it is predicted there will be 398 cases, Mazzoccoli said.

Mazzoccoli attributes the delays to a number of factors, including understaffing of the state police.

"I think it's a combination of everything," she said.

The delays were substantiated in a report by state auditors, who in 2005 audited the previous two years, 2003 and 2004, and found that state police "contributed to the backlog by not reviewing and settling a majority of the cases until the month of the scheduled hearing."

Auditors recommended that the civilian review board should ensure timely hearings by increasing the frequency of hearings or the number of appeals scheduled for each meeting. The board meets about once a month, and its members are volunteers. There are about 20 to 40 cases a month on the docket, but they only hear about a dozen.

Regarding the backlog, Danaher said he has taken steps to ease the delay, but would not discuss them because of the pending legal action.

Goldberg and Kuck also have found a mutual ally in Edward Peruta, a free-lance journalist who has been helping them research the issue after they contacted him. Peruta has spent hours on the phone and digging through materials, and has offered to help finance Goldberg's lawsuit.

"I have known James Goldberg since the day he was born. Everybody's rights are being violated when the government violates his rights, and they happened to pick the wrong person," he said. "There are people who deserve to have their permit taken away. James is not one of them."

Contact Tracy Gordon Fox at tfox@courant.com.

NOW PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT REP. MICHAEL LAWLOR SAYS IN A DIFFERENT SITUATION ABOUT LAWS BEING CLEAR.

There is yet another law that applies directly to those under the age of 18 who are convicted for driving under the influence of alcohol. It mandates that the teen's license be suspended until age 18. But again, because the plea bargain enabled Apruzzese to plead as a youthful offender, Lawlor said, "he technically wasn't convicted of the offense."

The youthful offender status entitles minors to have criminal cases kept confidential and for the record ultimately to be erased.

Lawlor said there has been an ongoing debate on whether drunken driving constitutes a crime or a motor vehicle violation. "It's a big, technical debate that's gone on a long time. In my mind, it's a crime, and I think the law has to be absolutely clear," he said.

30 cal slut · Oct 8, 2007

imported post

attaboy.

:celebrate

Courant.com
Grief Over Gun Permits
Delays In Renewals, Appeals Lead To Suit
By TRACY GORDON FOX

Courant Staff Writer

October 8, 2007

James Goldberg was never in trouble with the law, never even had a traffic ticket. And he had no difficulty obtaining a gun permit to carry a pistol to his job as night manager of a liquor store for protection.

So when Glastonbury police seized Goldberg's gun and revoked his permit - following his arrest on charges of breach of peace June 21 at Chili's restaurant after an employee complained about seeing the gun under his T-shirt - friends and family, even the Wethersfield police chief who signed off on the gun permit, figured it was a misunderstanding that would be quickly corrected.

The misdemeanor charge was dismissed about a month later in Superior Court in Manchester, leaving Goldberg, 29, with a clean record. But he will have to wait until May 14, 2009, for a hearing before the Board of Firearms Permit examiners, a civilian board that hears appeals on revoked or denied gun permits.

Goldberg, who has hired an attorney and plans to file a federal lawsuit over the delay, is not alone.

In fact, M. Peter Kuck, secretary of the Board of Firearms Permit Examiners, who was appointed by Gov. M. Jodi Rell for the firearms permit board, has filed his own federal lawsuit against the state police, saying that even he could not have his permit renewed in a timely manner. He cites an average delay of 17 to 20 months and sometimes up to three years that he and others have to wait for a hearing.

Kuck blames the State Police Special License and Firearms unit for mismanagement, arrogance and attempting to create its own laws on gun permits. The unit, composed of troopers, is responsible for the issuance of state pistol permits, oversight and regulation of firearm sale transactions, and issuance of licenses.

When a permit has been denied or revoked by police, a gun owner can go before the seven-member civilian board of firearms permit examiners, a kind of last resort to get a permit. About 300 cases are brought to the board each year. The case load increased dramatically after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to records.

Both Kuck and Goldberg are claiming a violation of due process rights for citizens seeking gun permits, a frustrating problem that has in some cases put careers on hold as people wait for months to get a hearing before the review board.

Even though Kuck is one of those board members responsible for the permits of others, he cannot get his own permit renewed until he goes for a hearing Nov. 13, 2008.

"It is not only him, but a lot of people, and we don't even know how many at this point," said Rachel Baird, Kuck's attorney. "It is clear that his due process rights were being violated."

"Since the complaint has been filed, additional information has come to light that will require amending the complaint and adding new defendants," Baird said.

Standing up for his civil rights has not made Kuck popular with the board. He recently learned that there has been an attempt to remove him from the board because his actions were costing the state money.

"We have tried to involve the governor's office to have him removed, but the statutes [on appointments] tie their hands," Susan Mazzoccoli, executive director of the civilian board, wrote in an e-mail to an employee of another state agency.

Abuse Of Power?

Scott Hoffman, owner of Hoffman's Gun Center in Newington, said the waiting time and hassles are a constant complaint with his customers.

"There is no due process," Hoffman said, adding that the state police firearms unit is understaffed and under-funded to do the job. "It's nuts, completely nuts."

He said he is glad that two gun owners are finally taking the state and the review board to task. "It's like fighting city hall. It's a very hard thing to do. You have to have the money and the stomach to do it."

Kuck, a member of the Ye Connecticut Gun Guild Inc., submitted his application to the Department of Public Safety to renew his permit on March 19, prior to its April 16 expiration date. But state police demanded that he submit a birth certificate or U.S. passport for the renewal, saying one of those forms of ID have been required for renewal since Sept. 11, 2001.

Kuck claims the state police firearms unit has abused its authority by punishing gun owners with long delays and implementing policies that have no basis in law. Kuck says the Department of Public Safety "caused the backlog of cases by not reviewing, processing, and preparing the appeal cases in a reasonable and timely manner for the board's review," according to the suit.

According to Goldberg, he left his job as the night manager of a liquor store on June 21, and went to the takeout section of Chili's to wait for his order. He was wearing camouflage pants and a T-shirt that covered the weapon, which showed when he went to reach for his wallet. An employee became alarmed and called police.

Officers arrived and pushed Goldberg against the wall, while customers and wait staff watched. Goldberg, the soft-spoken son of a 30-year police veteran, said he calmly told the officers he had a permit to carry. They checked it out and found that he did. But because the waitress was alarmed he was arrested for breach of peace. While Connecticut law is silent on concealment of a weapon, many police officers believe the weapon must be hidden from view because of the alarm it causes.

"I have no problems with the officers' actions with regard to the incident," Glastonbury Police Chief Thomas Sweeney said.

But Goldberg, who was working toward becoming an executive security specialist and who would carry a gun as part of the job, said, "This whole situation is making me sick to my stomach. I can't go forward in my career."

State police acknowledge the delay and say they have made some changes. They deny the firearms unit has done anything wrong.

"I will say generically we disagree with the allegations in the complaint, and we expect it will be handled by the attorney general's office," Public Safety Commissioner John A. Danaher III said. "Our people are doing their job correctly."

Lt. J. Paul Vance, a state police spokesman, said guns are not arbitrarily seized, but are taken for good reason. He said the state police must provide information to the civilian board, which hold hearings "that are like a mini trial."

"They are a volunteer board. They can only hear so many cases."

Number Of Appeals Rising

From July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2006, there were 329 appeals filed to the civilian board. Between 2006 and 2007 during the same period, there were 338 cases. This year, it is predicted there will be 398 cases, Mazzoccoli said.

Mazzoccoli attributes the delays to a number of factors, including understaffing of the state police.

"I think it's a combination of everything," she said.

The delays were substantiated in a report by state auditors, who in 2005 audited the previous two years, 2003 and 2004, and found that state police "contributed to the backlog by not reviewing and settling a majority of the cases until the month of the scheduled hearing."

Auditors recommended that the civilian review board should ensure timely hearings by increasing the frequency of hearings or the number of appeals scheduled for each meeting. The board meets about once a month, and its members are volunteers. There are about 20 to 40 cases a month on the docket, but they only hear about a dozen.

Regarding the backlog, Danaher said he has taken steps to ease the delay, but would not discuss them because of the pending legal action.

Goldberg and Kuck also have found a mutual ally in Edward Peruta, a free-lance journalist who has been helping them research the issue after they contacted him. Peruta has spent hours on the phone and digging through materials, and has offered to help finance Goldberg's lawsuit.

"I have known James Goldberg since the day he was born. Everybody's rights are being violated when the government violates his rights, and they happened to pick the wrong person," he said. "There are people who deserve to have their permit taken away. James is not one of them."

Contact Tracy Gordon Fox at tfox@courant.com.

EDIT: Removed the ad - BC

buketdude · Oct 8, 2007

imported post

i don't think it was really anti-gun

modelo57 · Oct 8, 2007

imported post

I love how one member of the board complained that "He's costing the state money"! It sounds so much like the cry on the "Simpsons" "think of the children"! If you can't win the argument, change the subject.

hornett22 · Feb 26, 2008

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costing the state money? i watch the clowns from the state mow the highways in Dec.,Jan.,and Feb. what is that costing the state for 8 dumptrucks and a large tractor?

Edward Peruta · Aug 15, 2008

imported post

A new page of information has been added at www.ourrockyhill.com which explains the Goldberg situation.

Please visit this link to view the basic facts and view several documents that tell the story.

http://www.ourrockyhill.com/Docs/JUSTIFICATION.REINSTATEMENT.htm

Hopefully you will be able to understand what is going on now that new information has been received and posted.

Edward Peruta · Mar 24, 2010

imported post

Maybe it's time to resurrect this post from October of 2007.

THANK YOU MIKE, JOHN AND ALL WHO POST ON OPENCARRY.ORG

In the case of James F. Goldberg v. Glastonbury Police Department, a sworn deposition of Chief Thomas Sweeny was taken recently.

A link to the entire deposition is provide for those who wish to read same.

May I suggest that Chief Sweeny in some ways now begins to get it right.[/b]

He obviously needs to lean more about OPEN CARRY, and it does seem like he has learned by visiting this sight.[/b]

Q Have you ever heard of an organization called Open Carry?[/b]

A Yes, sir.
[/b]
Q And have you ever seen the website Open Carry dot-org?[/b]

A Yes.
[/b]
Q And what is your view on that organization? [/b]

A Clearly there are parts of the country people carry weapons and it's more the cultural norm or otherwise. Open Carry, what I've seen on the website and some of the blogs is there are people advocating a number of places around the country to go carry[/b], whether Connecticut, there's some people in Connecticut have talked about it. I think it's an issue different parts of the country view walking in with a firearm exposed very differently. There are states that basically have open carry laws and it's commonplace, not common in the northeast. It's going to result in a reaction from a lot of people when it[/b]

happens, but I don't think the law's very clear on it in this state.[/b]

Q Why is the law not clear on that in this state?[/b]

A Because it seems you have the issue, it doesn't say that it has to be concealed, but the state has advocated for years that mature judgment be used when you walk into various establishments or otherwise, that you're walking in with it exposed and you have the issue of the alarm that it may create in other people. So you have an issue of the alarm feature. You want to walk in, have an open carry, but if people get upset by the manner in which you act and comport and carry yourself, you run the risk of being arrested for it.

Q We'll get into that later on. So you're aware that different states have different laws regarding the carrying of concealed weapons and open carry states?

A Yes, sir.

Q And you don't dispute that Connecticut is an open carry state?
[/b]
A No, sir.
[/b]

In another area there is a link to the entire deposition!!!

The issue will be addressed

Edward Peruta

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Edward Peruta

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30 cal slut

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buketdude

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modelo57

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hornett22

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Edward Peruta

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Edward Peruta

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