By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Asserting that the policies of the Contra Costa County, California Sheriff’s Office, which prohibit permit holders from carrying single-action-only (SAO) pistols such as the Model 1911, or handguns equipped with flashlights or “red dot” sights, the Second Amendment Foundation has sued the sheriff’s office in federal court claiming the policy is unconstitutional.
The federal complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Oakland Division.
SAF is joined by two Contra Costa County residents, Andrew Moore and James Treuel. They are represented by attorneys John W. Dillon at the Dillon Law Group in Carlsbad, Calif., and Konstadinos T. Moros at SAF in Bellevue, Wash.
Named as defendants are Contra Costa County Sheriff David Livingston, the Sheriff’s Department and Contra Costa County.
“Contra Costa County is the only jurisdiction in America that forbids law-abiding CCW permit holders from using red dot sights, firearm-mounted lights, or carrying the venerable 1911 platform,” said attorney Moros, who is SAF director of Legal Research and Education, in a statement to the media. “These are common, popular and safety-enhancing features and firearms used by millions of Americans and even adopted by multiple California law enforcement agencies. There is zero historical tradition supporting these restrictions, and they cannot survive scrutiny under Bruen.”
According to SAF’s lawsuit, “The policies, enforced by Sheriff David Livingston, are unique in the nation. To SAF’s knowledge, no other county or city in California – or anywhere else in the United States – imposes such restrictions on law-abiding carry permit holders. The complaint alleges the policies violate the Second and Fourteenth Amendments under the Supreme Court’s decisions in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen and District of Columbia v. Heller.”
In the 24-page complaint, SAF explains that single-action-only semiautomatic pistols are in common use across the country, and that several SAO pistols “were recently added to the California Handgun Roster after passing the state’s expansive safety testing.”
Red dot sights, the lawsuit notes, are also commonly owned, and that residents from across California, who get their carry permits in other counties, may legally carry firearms with such sights in Contra Costa County, since the permits are valid statewide.
The complaint alleges that Contra Costa County’s policies lack any authority under California law, which “does not authorize sheriffs of chiefs of police to impose such arbitrary restrictions n the types of handguns or features that may be carried in public by its residents.”
“These arbitrary policies single out Contra Costa County residents and prevent them from using the most effective and popular tools for lawful self-defense,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. “Law-abiding citizens should not be forced to choose between their safety and complying with an unconstitutional and outlier restriction that exists nowhere else in the country.”
