Special Assignment: News 8 Exclusive: Secret "Covert Canyon" Training Camp Operating In Alpine

We've had two helicopters land here since we've opened Helicopters landing, machine guns, sniper shooting -- It's similar to a controversial Blackwater facility planned for Potrero . via KFMB-TV San Diego

[kelley osborne]

I want to know why Halcon,the owner of Covert Canyon is not going to be fined by the county? If I went out and fired a gun without a permit or ran a business without one, I know damn well I would be? What makes him so special?

[Denogenesia]

The public has been placed in harm's way
by this covert project. These people have
disregarded all levels of law. I live in the area and can vouch that low flying black helicopters fly overhead day and night. This area used to be quiet. I don't believe the statement that only two helicopters landed.
Further, the detonation of major ordinance
shook the house several times like an earthquake. If you Google Mark Halcon's name, you will see links showing the extreme extent of the weapons and tactical
protocols that went on there. I believe as others do that military weapons have been tested on local citizen's in this operation without informed consent. I base this on my own observations and discussions with those involved in the
development and manufacturing of directed
energy weapons here in San Diego (AKA
non-lethals and less than lethals). Lastly, those law enforcement officers and others who used that facility knowing it was operating outside of all laws and endangering the public - and those who authorized that - should be required the pay the full cost personally and pay fines and incur other disciplinary action. It is
absurd to have law enforcement officers acting illegally beyond compliance and accountability of all laws.
Supervisor Dianne Jacob is to be commended for shutting down this operation as soon as it was discovered. I trust she will
address the entire matter in a thorough
and deliberative manner.
Excellent job of investigative journalism
Channel 8. Please continue to uncover these major stories.

[Denogenesia]

kelley osborne wrote:

I want to know why Halcon,the owner of Covert Canyon is not going to be fined by the county? If I went out and fired a gun without a permit or ran a business without one, I know damn well I would be? What makes him so special?

It's not a closed issue yet. I too believe that Mr. Mark Halcon must incur consequences. First, he obviously made huge profits. Every cent illegally obtained while placing the public in harm's way should be taken and placed in the country general fund. There is probably more here than we are aware of. I trust that Supervisor Dianne Jacob will address this issue in the best possible way. I'm sure she is outraged to learn that her lawful authority has been blatently disregarded by a group of gun and war loving fanatics who believe they are above the law and who decide to operate a dangerous facility in the middle of a residential area.
Give it time. It's not over yet.

[milsec]

Part 1

“The public has been placed in harm's way
by this covert project"

***How?? They were open to military and law enforcement units that needed additional training resources to protect you! It was the safest range in town with the most comprehensive emergency and safety plan that we have seen. My unit has been using the range since it was certified safe and usable last year, so we know the operation inside and out.***

“These people have disregarded all levels of law”

*** The county and SDSO both knew exactly what Halcon was doing. Don't be foolish enough to believe everything you see in the news. County officials must say certain things due to political pressures, they work out the inaccuracies of what they say on the news afterwards behind closed doors***

“ I live in the area and can vouch that low flying black helicopters fly overhead day and night. This area used to be quiet. I don't believe the statement that only two helicopters landed”

*** Not only have only 2 helicopters landed there in two years, but they both landed on the same day. All those other "black" offensive helos were the U.S. military going to other unrelated training areas to prepare our military personnel. By the way this was a public FAA approved airstrip before Halcon purchased it. Stunt aircraft used to fly here regularly. Sounds quiet to me…***

“Further, the detonation of major ordinance shook the house several times like an earthquake”

***There was NO "major ordinance" used there at all. The range SOPs are quite clear on what is to be used here. It’s surprising that no complaints came in until AFTER the news story aired. The only neighbor that could have complained has a large junkyard and hazardous waste on the property next door and their residence is on Halcon’s property, this is why they decided to LIE about what had been going on out there. Ie. Get Halcon out….keep our un-permitted trailers on Halcon’s land.***

While the county had been going through the certification process with Halcon(yes this had already in full swing) the county inspectors as well as us that trained there, saw the disgusting state of the adjacent land. The county must have contacted the junk-lord based on what they saw, at which time they started complaining. Funny how that works***

“If you Google Mark Halcon's name, you will see links showing the extreme extent of the weapons and tactical protocols that went on there”

***Yes Halcon is instrumental in providing training and training venues to law enforcement and military. That’s not offensive to us freedom-loving military types.***

(continued on next post)

[milsec]

Part 2

“ I believe as others do that military weapons have been tested on local citizen's in this operation without informed consent. I base this on my own observations and discussions with those involved in the development and manufacturing of directed energy weapons here in San Diego (AKA non-lethals and less than lethals).”

***You lost me here, sounds like you’re watching too much ‘24’!


“Lastly, those law enforcement officers and others who used that facility knowing it was operating outside of all laws and endangering the public - and those who authorized that - should be required the pay the full cost personally and pay fines and incur other disciplinary action. It is absurd to have law enforcement officers acting illegally beyond compliance and accountability of all laws”

***What Law Enforcement officers are acting illegally? Are you still talking about the same story, or have you been side-tracked??***

“Supervisor Dianne Jacob is to be commended for shutting down this operation as soon as it was discovered. I trust she will address the entire matter in a thorough and deliberative manner. Excellent job of investigative journalism Channel 8. Please continue to uncover these major stories.”

***I'm sure Ms. Jacobs will do the right thing once informed properly of all the facts.***

***We in the military commend Mr. Halcon's efforts to provide facilities for us to complete our training evolutions. We know the truth about what was really going on out there, and who had been there to certify the range as far back as early 2006. We would not have been allowed to train there without going through the process of reviewing the certification documents. The other outdoor ranges in town we looked at to conduct some of our training were not suitable for several reasons mainly safety and public view.

Covert Canyon is the ONLY range in town where the dreaded "mercenary" or security contractor, can NOT train. It is only range in town where a fulltime environmental technologist was hired immediately after the land purchase to revitalize the area and protect the habitat. So many environmental improvements have been made, it looks nicer than most state parks. Also it is only range in town that provided a nationally certified EMT each time we trained there at no extra charge. Additionally, what Halcon charges us for the range; it would be a miracle if he breaks even on that property.

Your true colors came out when you categorized Halcon's team and those of us who train at the facility as a "group of gun and war loving fanatics" The global war on terror we are currently involved with requires an upgraded training tempo to ensure our units are prepared to protect our country and its citizens. Mr. Halcon has been providing training venues for military and Law Enforcement for at least 10 years that I know of. Please don't make assumptions based on your own lack of education, lack or facts or obvious disdain for local Law Enforcement and the U.S. Military.

[milsec]

Part 1
“The public has been placed in harm's way
by this covert project"
***How?? They were open to military and law enforcement units that needed additional training resources to protect you! It was the safest range in town with the most comprehensive emergency and safety plan that we have seen. My unit has been using the range since it was certified safe and usable last year, so we know the operation inside and out.***

“These people have disregarded all levels of law”
*** The county and SDSO both knew exactly what Halcon was doing. Don't be foolish enough to believe everything you see in the news. County officials must say certain things due to political pressures, they work out the inaccuracies of what they say on the news afterwards behind closed doors***

“ I live in the area and can vouch that low flying black helicopters fly overhead day and night. This area used to be quiet. I don't believe the statement that only two helicopters landed”
*** Not only have only 2 helicopters landed there in two years, but they both landed on the same day. All those other "black" offensive helos were the U.S. military going to other unrelated training areas to prepare our military personnel. By the way this was a public FAA approved airstrip before Halcon purchased it. Stunt aircraft used to fly here regularly. Sounds quiet to me…***

“Further, the detonation of major ordinance shook the house several times like an earthquake”
***There was NO "major ordinance" used there at all. The range SOPs are quite clear on what is to be used here. It’s surprising that no complaints came in until AFTER the news story aired. The only neighbor that could have complained has a large junkyard and hazardous waste on the property next door and their residence is on Halcon’s property, this is why they decided to LIE about what had been going on out there. Ie. Get Halcon out….keep our un-permitted trailers on Halcon’s land.***

While the county had been going through the certification process with Halcon(yes this had already in full swing) the county inspectors as well as us that trained there, saw the disgusting state of the adjacent land. The county must have contacted the junk-lord based on what they saw, at which time they started complaining. Funny how that works***

“If you Google Mark Halcon's name, you will see links showing the extreme extent of the weapons and tactical protocols that went on there”
***Yes Halcon is instrumental in providing training and training venues to law enforcement and military. That’s not offensive to us freedom-loving military types.***

[milsec]

Part 2
“ I believe as others do that military weapons have been tested on local citizen's in this operation without informed consent. I base this on my own observations and discussions with those involved in the development and manufacturing of directed energy weapons here in San Diego (AKA non-lethals and less than lethals).”
***You lost me here, sounds like you’re watching too much ‘24’!


“Lastly, those law enforcement officers and others who used that facility knowing it was operating outside of all laws and endangering the public - and those who authorized that - should be required the pay the full cost personally and pay fines and incur other disciplinary action. It is absurd to have law enforcement officers acting illegally beyond compliance and accountability of all laws”
***What Law Enforcement officers are acting illegally? Are you still talking about the same story, or have you been side-tracked??***

“Supervisor Dianne Jacob is to be commended for shutting down this operation as soon as it was discovered. I trust she will address the entire matter in a thorough and deliberative manner. Excellent job of investigative journalism Channel 8. Please continue to uncover these major stories.”
***I'm sure Ms Jacobs will do the right thing once informed properly of all the facts.***

***We in the military commend Mr. Halcon's efforts to provide facilities for us to complete our training evolutions. We know the truth about what was really going on out there, and who had been there to certify the range as far back as early 2006. We would not have been allowed to train there without going through the process of reviewing the certification documents. The other outdoor ranges in town we looked at to conduct some of our training were not suitable for several reasons mainly safety and public view.

Covert Canyon is the ONLY range in town where the dreaded "mercenary" or security contractor, can NOT train. It is only range in town where a fulltime environmental technologist was hired immediately after the land purchase to revitalize the area and protect the habitat. So many environmental improvements have been made, it looks nicer than most state parks. Also it is only range in town that provided a nationally certified EMT each time we trained there at no extra charge. Additionally, what Halcon charges us for the range; it would be a miracle if he breaks even on that property.

Your true colors came out when you categorized Halcon's team and those of us who train at the facility as a "group of gun and war loving fanatics" The global war on terror we are currently involved with requires an upgraded training tempo to ensure our units are prepared to protect our country and its citizens. Mr. Halcon has been providing training venues for military and Law Enforcement for at least 10 years that I know of. Please don't make assumptions based on your own lack of education, lack or facts or obvious disdain for local Law Enforcement and the U.S. Military.

[milsec]

Part 1
“The public has been placed in harm's way
by this covert project"
***How?? They were open to military and law enforcement units that needed additional training resources to protect you! It was the safest range in town with the most comprehensive emergency and safety plan that we have seen. My unit has been using the range since it was certified safe and usable last year, so we know the operation inside and out.***

“These people have disregarded all levels of law”
*** The county and SDSO both knew exactly what Halcon was doing. Don't be foolish enough to believe everything you see in the news. County officials must say certain things due to political pressures, they work out the inaccuracies of what they say on the news afterwards behind closed doors***

“ I live in the area and can vouch that low flying black helicopters fly overhead day and night. This area used to be quiet. I don't believe the statement that only two helicopters landed”
*** Not only have only 2 helicopters landed there in two years, but they both landed on the same day. All those other "black" offensive helos were the U.S. military going to other unrelated training areas to prepare our military personnel. By the way this was a public FAA approved airstrip before Halcon purchased it. Stunt aircraft used to fly here regularly. Sounds quiet to me…***

“Further, the detonation of major ordinance shook the house several times like an earthquake”
***There was NO "major ordinance" used there at all. The range SOPs are quite clear on what is to be used here. It’s surprising that no complaints came in until AFTER the news story aired. The only neighbor that could have complained has a large junkyard and hazardous waste on the property next door and their residence is on Halcon’s property, this is why they decided to LIE about what had been going on out there. Ie. Get Halcon out….keep our un-permitted trailers on Halcon’s land.***

While the county had been going through the certification process with Halcon(yes this had already in full swing) the county inspectors as well as us that trained there, saw the disgusting state of the adjacent land. The county must have contacted the junk-lord based on what they saw, at which time they started complaining. Funny how that works***

“If you Google Mark Halcon's name, you will see links showing the extreme extent of the weapons and tactical protocols that went on there”
***Yes Halcon is instrumental in providing training and training venues to law enforcement and military. That’s not offensive to us freedom-loving military types.***

[Lance]

Milsec- I agree that the post prior to yours appears as though the author has been watching to much "24" by talking about explosive earthquakes and black helicopters mysteriously appearing at Covert Canyon. In the end though that is besides the point. The fact is that Halcon, particularly as a respected business man in San Diego that has owned an indoor shooting range for years, KNOWS that you cannot develop land in the county without going through the proper channels...and ultimately he just arrogantly considered that his own needs were more important than anyone elses and therefore the rules didn't have to apply to him...and that's BS. It's no different than you deciding to just arbitrarily build a coffee shop on your front lawn or down on a vacant lot you just purchased in the Gaslamp Quarter without getting a permit for it. You just can't do that. That's why the first post in this blog makes the claim, "Why isn't Halcon getting fined?"

Secondly, from my Google research, Covert Canyon's ranges were certified by the Defense Department...true enough. But that still doesn't mean that they were properly PERMITTED by the county. Example: I can build a motorcycle in my garage. I can have a certified mechanic come and certify that it is in fact a working motorcyle. I can even drive it on the road. But unless it is approved by the DMV for safety and emissions, it may be a motorcycle, but it's still not legal for me to drive.

Lastly, what is entirely irrelevant is the junkyard of Halcon's neighbors. Halcon was conducting an unpermitted operation on his land! If the neighbors are that messy, then the county has a duty to file an injunction against them as well. But to try and say "The real problem is the next door neighbor's junk pile and not Halcon's operation" is no different than someone being caught cheating and saying they're really not at fault because the person sitting next to them is cheating more - it's fuzzy logic at best. The fact is, both parties are wrong. But Halcon's stinks to high heaven...because he is a businessman...because he certainly knows the permitting process by operating an indoor shooting range for years...because he just thought the rules didn't apply to him...and also because the land he purchased for Covert Canyon is an agricultural preserve with much of it in the Cleveland National Forest. If he was operating a fruit tree farm, no problem...but not a outdoor shooting gallery.

[milsec]

Lance,
The quote you used. "The real problem is the next door neighbor's junk pile and not Halcon's operation" was NEVER written by me.
What you did not gather from my post is this: Halcon had contacted both the county and SDSO after purchasing the property. Halcon was doing EXACTLY what the county and SDSO told him he had to do to accomplish his goals. The property had been visited to check progress at least a dozen times.

You said it yourself; a respected San Diego businessman suddenly decides to break all the rules...? Doesn’t make sense right???. Secondly, "Why didn't Halcon get fined?" Because the county knew what was going on, made the mistake of letting a county employee that was completely clueless of the counties involvement speak on Ch8 news...that’s why.

When the Blackwater story hit the county and Diane Jacob’s office saw a way to save face and show the people that they do NOT support such activity. It’s politics. My other posts above, pretty much spell it out.

So, back to your home-built motorcycle analogy: You build the bike, you take it to the DMV and they tell you exactly what you need to do to make it street legal. You do what they asked, revisit the DMV, show them the bike and they tell you that you are good to go and that you can ride the bike on the street. Months later, right after a highly publicized controversy regarding illegal motorcycles on the road, the DMV is on CH news saying they have never heard of you. Diane Jacobs says in a follow up story that Lance is operating his motorcycle illegally. The coup de gras was your neighbor lying to the news blatantly stating you rev the engine of your illegal motorcycle all night long. Your reputation is ruined, but hey…the truth would not have been interesting news.

Anyways there’s not much more to say about this. I hope for our sake he gets up and running again. We don’t feel the need to explain why local military and law enforcement units need additional training areas, but they do. That’s for another discussion.

out

[Lance]

Milsec - without batting the ball back and forth any longer...

1. Regardless of whether he was "in the process" of obtaining the correct permits, did Halcon actually have them? Answer = NO.

2. Therefore, should Halcon have been operating as though any permits were finalized? Answer = NO.

3. Does anyone else trying to develop in San Diego have to go through the county permitting process AND ACTUALLY RECEIVE A PERMIT before being allowed to lawfully develop anything? Answer = YES.

4. Did Halcon not abide by this? Answer = YES.

That, my friend, IS the discussion. Out.

[milsec]

1. Regardless of whether he was "in the process" of obtaining the correct permits, did Halcon actually have them? Answer = NO.
***Halcon had authorization from the county to operate***

2. Therefore, should Halcon have been operating as though any permits were finalized? Answer = NO.
***Halcon had authorization from the county to operate***

3. Does anyone else trying to develop in San Diego have to go through the county permitting process AND ACTUALLY RECEIVE A PERMIT before being allowed to lawfully develop anything? Answer = YES.
***Halcon had authorization from the county to operate***

4. Did Halcon not abide by this? Answer = YES.
***Halcon had authorization from the county to operate***

You're a thick guy Lance. I thought I made all this clear.

Now go think up some more analogies that don't hold up.
Out

[Lance]

"You're a thick guy Lance. I thought I made all this clear."

Milsec - I revel in seeing people lash out merely because they're backed into a corner! Yes. Anyway, I hear exactly what you're saying, my man..."Mr. Halcon had permission from the county to operate Covert Canyon and what we're all really seeing is one big huge conspiracy against Halcon where Supervisor Jacobs, the county planning department, Channel 8 News, his neighbors, Black Water, and anyone else is just out to screw him." Riiiiiiiiight...

Anyway, tell you what...you produce a single shred of certifiable evidence that "Halcon had authorization from the county to operate" - particularly without a formal permit - and I'll go quiet. There was never a permit to operate (and a nod of the head or wink of the eye doesn't cut it), and you know it.

No analogies here...just plain facts.

[KBE]

Lance, I think your point is well made. The article by Anne Krueger states the following:
"County Supervisor Dianne Jacob said she asked county officials to issue the order because the owner, Marc Halcon, had not obtained the necessary permits to operate the training center."
* milsec, you wrote, "Because the county knew what was going on, made the mistake of letting a county employee that was completely clueless of the counties involvement speak on Ch8 news...that’s why."
Anne Krueger's article states, "Glenn Russell, Chief of regulatory planning at the county Department of Planning and Land Use, said Halcon was told months ago he needs a major use permit to operate the shooting range." I don't see how you conclude that the County's Chief of Regulatory Planning is a 'a county employee that was completely clueless of the counties involvement'.
*milsec, you said, "Halcon was doing EXACTLY what the county and SDSO told him he had to do to accomplish his goals." See my comment above.
The article also specifically states, "Halcon said he thought he didn't need a county permit because he isn't planning to construct any buildings...Although he [Halcon] believes the range doesn't need a permit, Halcon submitted an application to the county yesterday."
Milsec, I think your involvement either as an employee of Mr. Halcon (which you may be) or as a person who has trained at Covert Canyon is blinding you to what the real situation is.

[Chris]

One would ask why does any branch of the military need a firing range off base or for that mater a police agency need one,ant us base has a range any police agency has access to Duffy town the sheriff training range. unless thy are firing weapons that are not registered in this state as assault weapons, some people did not register after the law was passed on assault weapons to keep the government from knowing who has what I would guess there some because if you want to fire one at a private or public range you have to fill out forms and disclosures. As for the county don't pat Diane J on the back just yet she and the county new of Halcon at the time Halcon turned in his neighbor for what the county found as a code compliance issue for what the county now figures as junk and what was actually agricultural supply's, the neighbor is complying. when the county acted on halcon's complainant they could not miss the air strip and the gun ranges. wonder how a small time gun store firing range owner can afford 1.8 mill for the land. or do I smell IRAN Contra
as for Halcon hs not complyed thr range is still standing and the air strip could be still used OH if you fly over there is a big X on it but one coul tuch down at any time, the county should make him disable it by riping it up with a Dozer

[milsec]

I guess you guys know more about this than I do, so I'll just make some parting remarks and sign off the forum.

Halcon was told by the county and SDSO last year, what he needed to do to operate a military/law enforcement-only range on this property. Halcon complied with what they told him to do. The county changed the rules when the Blackwater issue starting heating up. Blackwater wanted to know why Halcon could operate and they couldn't. Fearing a lawsuit, the county decided that even though the two projects were completely different, Halcon would have to get what Blackwater needed due to political pressures. The county told Halcon to put Xs on the runway to show public aircraft that this is a closed strip. The runway was an FAA licensed runway buit over 15 years ago. Halcon did not build the runway. Military and Law Enforcement can land where they want if:
a) It is safe
b) They have owners consent

We told Halcon we may fly in twice a year at the most.
When the county came back and said, since Blackwater needs to do X, Y , Z, now you have to do X, Y , Z. Halcon complied and hired an engineering firm recommended by the county. The county allowed Halcon to operate because he promtly did everything that was asked of him, and maybe they felt bad that they changed the rules on him.

Halcon didn't "turn in" the neighbor. During the counties inspections of Halcon's land, the county compliance people saw the mess next door. It seriously looked like hurricane Katrina rolled through a junk yard there.

If you want to know why we need additional ranges, you'll have to sit down and talk to the units like ours that seek non-traditional training sites. Its unfortunate that we need them, but we need them desparately.

To use any off-base training site, we have strict protocol we must follow. We had the list of county compliance officers, deputies from the SDSO that came to check the range, EMS, local law enforcement officials, neighbor names and contact info, etc, etc. We contacted them all back then and were cleared to do our training.
We revisited all of this when the stories hit because we had some serious pressures on us for training at this site. During a debriefing with Halcon's staff we got a good handle on what the actual situation was and not as it was portrayed on the news.

If you want to know why the counties right hand did not know what the left hand was doing...? I urge you to go down to the county and demand an answer. You all should know the truth.

But as I said, you all know much more about this than I do, we just want the range back.

[kelley Osborne]

Reguardless of who is right and who is wrong Halcon has no reguard what so ever for people or the natural enviroment. There were plenty of places he could of opened this place other than a beautiful place like Alpine. As it is I no longer feel safe riding my horse up there or allowing my kids to play any where in the area. Tell the truth Milsec,"Would you want that place next door to your family's home"?

[kelley Osborne]

Seems to me the neighbors did exactly what Halcon wanted seeing as he had such a problem with their "junk" Thats called consideration for others. They cleaned it up. Seeing they had a problem with his plans for a range, what did he do? Told them to get .... is what he did. The fact they live there for peace and quiet meant nothing to him. A real nice guy this Halcon. Why doesn't he find another place to play army? My kids always do!

[Chris S]

Funny thing you hear at the local watering hole restaurant from some one who claims to be connected to Halcon, that he Halcon and a friend with a Black small helo took pictures and sent to the county coda enforcement. This was later collaborated buy the inspector

When in the armed forces one soldier just doesn’t go down to the armory to check out a 50 cal and a box of ammo to plunk of a couple of rounds off HE needs orders to use such a weapons and the same ATF rules apply to there personal weapons at military ranges. That perhaps got over looker after the BRADY bill

My statement still stands for military bases all have their own ranges and don’t need a privately owned range unless your in the Coastguard and that too have access to the Navy ranges

As for his range SDSO dose not certify that the range is compliant to county land use code

Wonder if the SDSO Knows of the stash of ammo in a non-compliant bunker and if the forestry or fire district knows of what is in the shipping containers generally thay like to have signs posted of what stored and where. Or what would stop a bunch of terrorist to go up there and raid the bunker with all that ammo and weapons in it

To open this range would take a major use permit, and is not a compatible use for Agricultural use likely this was mentioned to him.
Or could be that Mr. Halcon as a director of Backwater was trying to bootleg in a training facility to argue later that facility like Blackwater was operational so that blactwater should be allowed open.

Or Mr. Halcon saw the poetical money that was there for making so he though to bail on Backwater and beet then to the CASH (still waiting for my drinking buddy to fill me in on this, guess he’s busy or band from town now)

As for the airstrip runway it has KILLED!! two people looking at the parcel that now has the small arms ranges on it. Real safe

The biggest problem with that run way is that taking off you cant see below you do to the horseshoe shape of the valley, only straight out the valley opening you cant see west, or east un till you depart over the valley below and if there is some one below it could be bad, but I don’t have to tell you got to only lift off

At that time the previous owner let the land try to reclaim it the airstrip Halcon destroyed the habitat that was re-growing on it, than it was extended by Halcon to facilitate the sniper range that Cover Canyon boost about. It never was FAA approved it only has a listing of it in there had book for Emergency use if one looses power.

Some year back it was on the front page of SD Union describing un-controlled airstrips facilitating drug smuggling

[LYNN T HEFFERN]

kelley osborne wrote:

I want to know why Halcon,the owner of Covert Canyon is not going to be fined by the county? If I went out and fired a gun without a permit or ran a business without one, I know damn well I would be? What makes him so special?

Even in Kalifornistan you can still fire a gun (but not a machine gun) without a permit, as long as it is not in a restricted area.
If you live in Free America (Arizona and around 40 other states) You can carry your gun out to shoot in a loaded condition in your car. You do not have to lock your pistol and ammunition separately. You do not have to register your assault rifle. You can carry your weapon publicily without a permit so long as you stay out of schools and public buildings. Free America doesn't have any more problems with gun violence than Kalifornistan does. Police are not being slaughtered with any more frequency than in Kalifornistan.

As for a business license, I believe you are correct. All local governments use them to generate revenue, just like traffic tickets.