[Dan M.]

A few answers.

Hutchens misled the Board during the vetting process. The Board understood that CCW was important to the residents of Orange COunty. They were getting tons of emails and calls from us about the subject during the interviews with the various candidates for the position. Hutchens told them that her policy most likely would not be that different, that people who were worried about change would probably be surprised. Ha.

Even though the Board appointed her, they can't fire her or force her to do anything now that her true colors have come through. Her position, even though appointed, is an elected one and she has to be recalled or voted out. The recall process would be expensive and even if we had unlimited funds, the process is lengthy and we'd end up at the same date of the elections, so we will actively campaign for a candidate who has a more reasonable view on CCW.

The NRA has been involved, as has the CPRA to a small degree, working with the various CCW advocate groups like Ordinary California Citizens Concerned With Safety (OCCCWS.com) and CALCCW.com.

This is a BIG deal, with ramifications that could echo up and down the state. Orange County is the third largest urban county in the state. What happens here has the potential to have a major impact on state policy. On firearms forums like this one and THR and DC, you constantly see posters slamming CA, and bemoaning "how f***ed up things are there", and "why bother with Commie CA, it's a hopeless case", and "I'm so glad I left there."

Understand something - now more than ever, especially with our new President, people in other parts of the country cannot afford to ignore what is happening in CA. They are comfortable because they have their CCWs and good gun laws and that's all they want, but what happens here will spread unless it is stopped. Heller and possible state incorporation have given us a good foundation to launch from, but until folks start acting like Americans who care about the rights other Americans, instead of seeing us as "those Commifornians," the struggle will continue and it will come to your states. To quote a line from the first Terminator movie: "The battle for the future will be fought here."