Richard Cato: Seems to be two sets of rules on guns in Merced DA office

Re “Merced DA’s office handgun a ‘nonissue” (Page B-5, March 27): I wonder:

So, can I bring a gun into the Merced DA’s office without a concealed carry permit? The law, as quoted in The Bee article, suggests no, and yet “a person” did just that. Now, if that person were granted an exception by his superior, which was not noted in the article, that might be a factor.

If “a person” is allowed to do it, are all persons allowed to do it? Can other employees of the DA’s office bring personal weapons to their place of work and keep them there? If so, should that not be public knowledge and shouldn’t there be a municipal or state code stating that?

I know lawyers are trained to split hairs with surgeon-like precision, but isn’t the DA’s office both a building owned by “the public” and accessible to the public? There doesn’t seem to be an issue there. But then, I’m not a lawyer.

Looks to me like a shoving match between type-A personalities in the law-enforcement community that, for the sake of harmony and good public relations, has been swept under the rug. Just wondering.

This story was originally published March 30, 2015 at 1:47 PM with the headline "Richard Cato: Seems to be two sets of rules on guns in Merced DA office."