BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1934
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Date of Hearing: May 12, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1934 (Saldana) - As Amended: April 28, 2010
Policy Committee: Public Safety
Vote: 5-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill makes it a misdemeanor to carry an exposed and
unloaded handgun outside a vehicle in a public place.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Makes it a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in
county jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000, to carry an exposed
and unloaded handgun outside a vehicle on his or her person
while in a public place ("open carry").
2)Deletes provisions of law that allow a firearm to be carried
openly in a belt holster.
3)Creates a lengthy series of exceptions to the prohibition on
open carry, including peace officers, range shooting, hunters
engaged in lawful hunting, incidental transport, etc.
4)Makes a series of conforming and nonsubstantive changes.
FISCAL EFFECT
Unknown, likely minor, nonreimbursable local law enforcement and
incarceration costs, offset to a degree by increased fine
revenue.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale. The author and proponents contend the absence of a
prohibition on open carry has created a surge in problematic
instances of guns carried in public, alarming people and
causing issues for law enforcement. According to the author:
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"Open carry creates a potentially dangerous situation. In
most cases when a person is openly carrying a firearm, law
enforcement is called to the scene. They may have few details
other than that one or more people are present at a location
and are armed. Should the gun-carrying person move in a way
that could be construed as threatening, peace officers may
feel compelled to respond in a manner that could be lethal and
unsafe not only for the gun-carrying individual, but for
others nearby as well.
"When responding to calls from concerned citizens, law
enforcement agents must determine whether the guns are
actually unloaded. In light of the state's current economic
crisis, is the practice of openly carrying a handgun in public
areas a drain on public safety resources?
"Customers generally worry for their safety when someone
carries a firearm into a business. Thus, many businesses,
including Buckhorn Grill, California Pizza Kitchen, and Peet's
Coffee & Tea, have recognized this concern and have prohibited
customers from openly carrying handguns in their
establishments."
2)Current law specifies that carrying a loaded gun or a
concealed gun is generally a misdemeanor, punishable by up to
one year in a county jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000. There
are circumstances, however, where the penalty may be a wobbler
if the offender has a specified prior conviction.
3)Support . According to the Legal Community Against Violence,
"Over the past year, members of the so-called 'open carry
movement' have shocked Californians statewide by holding
carrying events in public places like coffee shops,
restaurants, and public parks. Open carry advocates seek to
normalize the carrying of firearms in public places, and use
open carrying to protest what they see as unjust state
firearms laws, including California's common-sense
restrictions on the issuance of concealed firearms licenses.
"While member of the open carry movement argue that they are
just 'exercising their rights," the open carrying of firearms
intimidates the public, wastes law enforcement resources, and
creates opportunities for injury and death due to the
accidental or intentional use of firearms. This conduct also
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needlessly increases the likelihood that every day
interpersonal conflicts will turn into deadly shootouts."
4)Opposition . According to the Gun Owners of California "We
believe that a ban on 'open carrying' of unloaded handguns
will bring a chilling effect on the constitutional rights of
all citizens. Since the Second Amendment includes both the
right to keep and bear arms, the government of California is
going to have to come to grips as to how bearing will take
place. As long as Carry Concealed Weapons Permits (CCWs) are
not available to the vast majority of law-abiding citizens in
California, the only other option is open carry.
"The argument that citizens legally expressing their rights
causes some to be intimidated or uncomfortable is a vapid
excuse for curtailing both the First and Second Amendment
rights of any citizen. It may make some people feel
uncomfortable or intimidated to hear someone espousing
communist or nazi or racist beliefs in the public square, but
as long as they are not breaking the law by exercising their
hate-filled beliefs into actual subversion of the country,
their rights of free speech, no matter how detestable, are
protected even if it makes some people uncomfortable. That is
freedom!"
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081