On Tuesday, Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux posted a tweet on Twitter encouraging people to get a carry concealed permit.
This message comes as the nation continues to mourn the victims killed in back to back mass shootings.

On Wednesday, Sheriff Boudreaux spoke to Your Central Valley on why he felt the need to send out the tweet.

“I wanted to level the playing field. I just feel that the playing field, we’re outnumbered. We have people that are taking advantage of the good citizens of many of the communities that we are seeing,” he said.

Boudreaux said his office isn’t asking anyone to be a vigilante but to have an extra tool to protect themselves and their family.
He said deputies will usually respond to a call in three to seven minutes.
Boudreaux said those minutes can feel like an enternity for some but if an armed citizen is there already, they can help deter or eliminate the threat.

He said there is a process for people to apply for a carry concealed weapon permit.
People who have a history of mental illness or have a past criminal records will not be issued a CCW permit.

Boudreaux believes if there was a CCW holder in the Walmart Store in El Paso, Texas, the law-abidding citizen could have eliminated the threat.

“I do believe that if there was someone there that was able to return fire and engage that person that it would have saved lives. I really do believe that,” he said.

According to Boudreaux, there are 10,000 people who have an CCW permit in his county.

Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke told Your Central Valley over the phone, he supports people to have a CCW permit.

“An armed society is a polite society,” he said.

His office has issued roughly 2,339 CCW permits.

Madera County Sheriff’s Office has roughly 2,500 active permits in their system. This isn’t including the CCW permits processed by the Madera Police Department.

According to Fresno County Sheriff Public Information Office Tony Botti, his agency is leading in the state when it comes to CCW permits.
Fresno County has about 16,000 active CCW permit holders.

As the nation continues to heal and pray for the victims killed in the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and in Dayton, Ohio.

One Central Valley sheriff if hoping people will exercise their second amendment right.

“We want them to know our hearts are really hurting for them as well because we know that this can happen to anyone of us and it can happen to anyone of our communities,” Boudreaux said.