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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Man in Motor Home Wins Right to Carry a Firearm

(CN) - San Diego County and its sheriff improperly refused to issue a gun license to a video journalist who travels and lives in a motor home, a federal judge in San Diego ruled.

Edward Peruta, 60, has a right to carry a concealed weapon, U.S. District Judge Irma Gonzalez ruled in an order denying the county's motion to dismiss Peruta's lawsuit.

Peruta and his wife live in a motor home in San Diego for at least four months of the year and spend the rest of their time traveling around the country for Peruta's job collecting raw footage of breaking news. The couple has a permanent mailing address in San Diego.

Peruta is a certified instructor for the National Rifle Association and has a pistol permit in Connecticut.

He applied for a gun permit in San Diego, because his job requires him to travel to high crime areas, "sometimes carrying large sums of cash, valuables and equipment," according to the ruling.

Peruta was denied a license because the San Diego license division found that he did not have "good cause" and was not a full-time resident of San Diego.

He took his case to federal court, alleging violations of the Second, Eighth and 14th Amendments.

Judge Gonzalez ruled for Peruta on his Second Amendment claim, saying the Constitution protects an individual's right to carry a concealed weapon and to be "armed and ready in case of confrontation."

The judge also ruled that Peruta is a resident of San Diego, however temporary, entitling him to the same rights as every other resident.

The county and Sheriff William Gore "did little to identify an 'important governmental interest' or demonstrate the required 'fit' between the law and the interest served," Gonzalez wrote.

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