Pleasant Hill Mayor Proposes Licensing Plan for Gun Dealers

Pleasant Hill mayor Michael Harris is proposing a local licensing process that would require gun and ammo dealers to get a permit from the police department. Here's an excerpt from the mayor's memo, which will be discussed at the City Council meeting Monday: 

"Many other cities throughout California have mandated, or are in the process of mandating, police-issued licenses and conditional use permits for businesses selling firearms and/or ammunition. In Contra Costa, Antioch, El Cerrito, Hercules, Lafayette, Oakley, Pinole, Richmond and San Pablo all require firearms dealers to obtain a local land use and/or police permit, and Contra Costa County has an ordinance requiring such dealers to obtain a land use permit. While we recognize that firearms dealers must have a Federal Firearm License issued by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and have to comply with comprehensive State laws, we believe that our community’s best interests are served by having direct controls in place through our City Police Department. 

As a result, we are proposing a local licensing process for Firearm and Ammunition Sales -- a local licensing process that both provides for the appropriate location of firearm and ammunition sales activity and regulates such activity through the permitting process. We have drafted this licensing process with the intent to “do no harm” to the City’s existing firearms dealers, all of whom our Police Department previously reported to have operated without creating problems for the City."