Santa Barbara Sheriff Reacts to Supreme Court Gun Ruling
Concealed Weapon Permits No Longer Require Demonstrating a Credible Threat
By Nick Welsh | June 30, 2022
When Santa Barbara Sheriff Bill Brown was asked about last week’s Supreme Court ruling that gives gun owners new and expanded rights to carry concealed weapons, his thoughts turned to a road-rage incident that took place in 2005. It started out, he said, with the typical exchange of salutary F-bombs between two motorists on Highway 101 near Buellton. It concluded in a deadly climax. When the dust settled, Wayne Shaw, a 49-year-old painting contractor from the Santa Ynez Valley, lay dead on the ground, and Louis Arthur Calvin, a 46-year-old card dealer who had just moved to the Valley from Las Vegas, was sentenced to more than 30 years behind bars.
Calvin, it turns out, had a concealed weapons permit issued by the state of Nevada. Shaw — said to have a hair-trigger temper with what he considered bad drivers — reportedly had at least one vodka tonic too many. When Calvin pulled over into the parking lot of a Buellton shopping center, Shaw reportedly followed. More F-bombs ensued. According to one witness, Shaw got out and punched Calvin in the face through his open window. But Calvin just happened to have a loaded .22 caliber derringer. He pulled it out and shot Shaw in the neck. Shaw would not survive the single blast.
“It’s an awesome responsibility to carry a firearm in public,” Brown commented. “People might not be as trained as they should be and get into situations where they become overconfident.” Instead of driving away or calling the police as he could have, Brown said, Calvin opted to stand his ground against an intoxicated aggressor. Aside from the obvious casualties — Shaw and Calvin — Brown said, the shooting visited lasting devastation upon the two men’s families.
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