BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Mark Leno, Chair A
2009-2010 Regular Session B
1
9
3
AB 1934 (Saldana) 4
As Amended June 10, 2010
Hearing date: June 22, 2010
Penal Code
SM:mc
OPEN CARRYING OF UNLOADED HANDGUNS
HISTORY
Source: Author
Prior Legislation: AB 98 (Cohn) - 2005, held on Suspense in
Assembly Appropriations
AB 2501(Horton) - 2004, failed passage in Assembly
Public Safety
AB 2828 (Cohn) - 2004, failed passage in Assembly
Public Safety
Support: Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, California
Chapters; Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence,
Orange County Chapter; California Police Chiefs
Association; City of Los Angeles; City of West
Hollywood; Coalition Against Gun Violence, Santa
Barbara County; Councilmember Marti Emerald, City of
San Diego; Friends Committee on Legislation of
California; Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County;
Legal Community Against Violence; Los Angeles Sheriff's
Department; Peace Officer Research Association of
California; Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater
Los Angeles; Violence Prevention Coalition of Orange
County; Women Against Gun Violence; City of Santa
Barbara; Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety; Council
(More)
AB 1934 (Saldana)
PageB
Member, District 2, for City of San Jose; numerous
individuals
Opposition:California Rifle and Pistol Association; National
Rifle Association; Republican Liberty Caucus of
California; The Bay Area Open Carry Movement; numerous
individuals
Assembly Floor Vote: Ayes 46 - Noes 30
KEY ISSUE
SHOULD THE OPEN CARRYING OF UNLOADED HANDGUNS IN PUBLIC BE
PROHIBITED, EXCEPT AS SPECIFIED?
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to prohibit the open carrying of
unloaded handguns in public, except as specified.
Existing law defines "handgun" as any "pistol," "revolver," or
"firearm capable of being concealed upon the person." (Penal
Code 12001(a)(2).)
Existing law prohibits carrying a concealed weapon, loaded or
unloaded, unless granted a permit to do so. Except as otherwise
provided, a person is guilty of carrying a concealed firearm
when he or she:
Carries concealed within any vehicle which is under his
or her control or direction any pistol, revolver, or other
firearm capable of being concealed upon the person;
Causes to be concealed within any vehicle in which the
person is an occupant any pistol, revolver, or other
firearm capable of being concealed upon the person; or,
Carries concealed upon his or her person any pistol,
(More)
AB 1934 (Saldana)
PageC
revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon
the person. (Penal Code 12025(a).)
Existing law provides that carrying a concealed firearm is
generally a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in a
county jail; by a fine of up to $1,000; or both. However, there
are several circumstances in which carrying a concealed weapon
may be punishable as a felony or alternate felony-misdemeanor:
A felony where the person has previously been convicted
of any felony or of any crime made punishable by the
Dangerous Weapons Control Law;
A felony where the firearm is stolen and the person
knew, or had reasonable cause to believe, that the firearm
was stolen;
A felony where the person is an active participant in a
criminal street gang;
A felony where the person is not in lawful possession of
the firearm, as defined, or the person is within a class of
persons prohibited from possessing or acquiring a firearm;
An alternate felony-misdemeanor where the person has
been convicted of a crime against a person or property or
of a narcotics or dangerous drug violation; and,
An alternate felony-misdemeanor where:
o Both the concealable firearm and the unexpended
ammunition for that firearm are either in the immediate
possession of the person or readily available to that
person or where the firearm is loaded; and,
o The person is not listed with the Department of
Justice (DOJ) as the registered owner of the firearm.
(Penal Code 12025(b).)
Existing law provides a number of exceptions and limitations to
the prohibition on carrying a concealed firearm including
methods to lawfully carry firearms in a vehicle, a home, or a
business, etc. (Penal Code 12025.5, 12026, 12026.1, 12026.2,
12027, and 12050.)
Existing law authorizes the sheriff of a county, or the chief or
other head of a municipal police department of any city or city
(More)
AB 1934 (Saldana)
PageD
and county, upon proof that the person applying is of good moral
character, that good cause exists for the issuance, and that the
person applying satisfies any one of specified conditions, and
has completed a course of training, as specified, to issue to
that person a license to carry a pistol, revolver, or other
firearm capable of being concealed upon the person in either one
of the following formats:
A license to carry concealed a pistol, revolver, or
other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person.
Where the population of the county is less than 200,000
persons according to the most recent federal decennial
census, a license to carry loaded and exposed in only that
county a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of
being concealed upon the person.
(Pen Code 12050.)
Existing law prohibits the carrying of a loaded firearm on his
or her person or in a vehicle while in any public place or on
any public street in an incorporated city or a prohibited area
of unincorporated territory. The penalty provisions for this
prohibition are substantially similar to those provided in Penal
Code Section 12025(b) and provide numerous exceptions and
limitation to this prohibition. (Penal Code 12031.)
Existing law provides that a firearm shall be deemed to be
loaded for the purposes of Penal Code Section 12031 when there
is an unexpended cartridge or shell, consisting of a case that
holds a charge of powder and a bullet or shot, in, or attached
in any manner to, the firearm, including, but not limited to, in
the firing chamber, magazine, or clip thereof attached to the
firearm; except that a muzzle-loader firearm shall be deemed to
be loaded when it is capped or primed and has a powder charge
and ball or shot in the barrel or cylinder. (Penal Code
12031(g).)
Existing law provides in the Fish and Game Code that it is
unlawful to possess a loaded rifle or shotgun in any vehicle or
conveyance or its attachments which is standing on or along or
is being driven on or along any public highway or other way open
(More)
AB 1934 (Saldana)
PageE
to the public. (Fish and Game Code 2006.)
Existing law provides that a rifle or shotgun shall be deemed to
be loaded for the purposes of this section when there is an
unexpended cartridge or shell in the firing chamber but not when
the only cartridges or shells are in the magazine. (Id.)
Existing law provides that carrying a loaded firearm is
generally a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in a
county jail; by a fine of up to $1,000; or both. However, there
are several circumstances in which the penalty may be punishable
as a felony or alternate felony-misdemeanor:
A felony where the person has previously been convicted
of any felony or of any crime made punishable by the
Dangerous Weapons Control Law;
A felony where the firearm is stolen and the person knew
or had reasonable cause to believe that the firearm was
stolen;
A felony where the person is an active participant in a
criminal street gang;
A felony where the person is not in lawful possession of
the firearm, as defined, or the person is within a class of
persons prohibited from possessing or acquiring a firearm;
An alternate felony-misdemeanor punishable by
imprisonment in the state prison; by imprisonment in a
county jail not to exceed one year; by a fine not to exceed
$1,000; or by both that imprisonment and fine where the
person has been convicted of a crime against a person or
property or of a narcotics or dangerous drug violation.
An alternate felony-misdemeanor punishable by
imprisonment in the state prison; by imprisonment in a
county jail not to exceed one year; by a fine not to exceed
$1,000; or by both that imprisonment and fine where the
person is not listed with the DOJ as the registered owner
of the firearm. (Penal Code 12031(b).)
Existing law prohibits a person, without appropriate permission,
as specified, from possessing a firearm within an area that the
person knew or reasonably should have known was a "school zone,"
(More)
AB 1934 (Saldana)
PageF
defined as an area in or on the grounds of or within 1,000 feet
of the grounds of any public or private K-12 school. (Penal
Code 629.9.)
Existing law provides that any person who has ever been
convicted of a felony and who owns or has in his or her
possession or under his or her custody or control a firearm is
guilty of a felony, punishable by 16 months, 2 or 3 years in
prison. (Penal Code 12021(b).)
Existing law provides that every person who, except in
self-defense, draws or exhibits any firearm in public, loaded or
unloaded, in the presence of another person, in a rude, angry or
threatening manner is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be
imprisoned for not less than three months nor more than one year
in the county jail; fined $1,000; or both. (Penal Code
417(a).)
Existing law provides that every person who, except in
self-defense, draws or exhibits any firearm, loaded or unloaded,
in a rude, angry or threatening manner in public, in the
presence of a peace officer, who a reasonable person would know
was in the performance of his or her duty, is guilty of an
alternate misdemeanor/felony and shall be imprisoned for not
less than nine months and up to one year in the county jail or
in the state prison for 16 months, 2 or 3 years. (Penal Code
417(c).)
This bill would make it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six
months in jail, a fine of up to $1000, or both, for a person to
carry an exposed and unloaded handgun outside a vehicle on his
or her person while in any public place or on any public street
in an incorporated city or in any public place or on any public
street in a prohibited area of an unincorporated territory.
This bill states that it would not preclude prosecution under
any other law with a penalty greater than is set forth in this
section.
(More)
AB 1934 (Saldana)
PageG
This bill provides that its provisions are cumulative, and shall
not be construed as restricting the application of any other
law. However, an act or omission punishable in different ways
by different provisions of law shall not be punished under more
than one provision.
This bill would exempt the following circumstances from the
prohibition proposed by this bill:
The open carrying of an unloaded handgun by any peace
officer or any honorably retired peace officer if he or she
may carry a concealed firearm pursuant to Section 12027 or
a loaded firearm pursuant to Section 12031.
The open carrying of an unloaded handgun by any person
to the extent that person may carry a loaded firearm
pursuant to Section 12031.
The open carrying of an unloaded handgun as merchandise
by a person who is engaged in the business of
manufacturing, importing, wholesaling, repairing, or
dealing in firearms and who is licensed to engage in that
business or the authorized representative or authorized
agent of that person while engaged in the lawful course of
the business.
The open carrying of an unloaded handgun by duly
authorized military or civil organizations while parading
or while rehearsing or practicing parading, or the members
thereof when at the meeting places of their respective
organizations.
The open carrying of an unloaded handgun by a member of
any club or organization organized for the purpose of
practicing shooting at targets upon established target
ranges, whether public or private, while the members are
using handguns upon the target ranges or incident to the
use of a handgun at that target range.
The open carrying of an unloaded handgun by a licensed
hunter while engaged in lawful hunting or while
transporting that handgun when going to or returning from
lawful hunting.
(More)
AB 1934 (Saldana)
PageH
The open carrying of an unloaded handgun incident to
transportation of a handgun by a person operating a
licensed common carrier or an authorized agent or employee
thereof when transported in conformance with applicable
federal law.
The open carrying of an unloaded handgun by a member of
an organization chartered by the Congress of the United
States or a nonprofit mutual or public benefit corporation
organized and recognized as a nonprofit tax-exempt
organization by the Internal Revenue Service while on
official parade duty or ceremonial occasions of that
organization or while rehearsing or practicing for official
parade duty or ceremonial occasions.
The open carrying of an unloaded handgun within a gun
show conducted pursuant to Sections 12071.1 and 12071.4.
The open carrying of an unloaded handgun within a school
zone, as defined in Section 626.9, with the written
permission of the school district superintendent, his or
her designee, or equivalent school authority.
The open carrying of an unloaded handgun when in
accordance with the provisions of Section 171b.
The open carrying of an unloaded handgun by any person
while engaged in the act of making or attempting to make a
lawful arrest.
The open carrying of an unloaded handgun incident to
loaning, selling, or transferring the same in accordance
with Section 12072 or any of the exemptions from
subdivision (d) of Section 12072 so long as that handgun is
possessed within private property and the possession and
carrying is with the permission of the owner or lessee of
that private property.
The open carrying of an unloaded handgun by a person
engaged in firearms-related activities, while on the
premises of a fixed place of business which is licensed to
conduct and conducts, as a regular course of its business,
activities related to the sale, making, repair, transfer,
pawn, or the use of firearms, or related to firearms
training.
The open carrying of an unloaded handgun by an
authorized participant in, or an authorized employee or
(More)
AB 1934 (Saldana)
PageI
agent of a supplier of firearms for, a motion picture,
television or video production, or entertainment event when
the participant lawfully uses the handgun as part of that
production or event, as part of rehearsing or practicing
for participation in that production or event, or while the
participant or authorized employee or agent is at that
production or event, or rehearsal or practice for that
production or event.
The open carrying of an unloaded handgun incident to
obtaining an identification number or mark assigned for
that handgun from the Department of Justice pursuant to
Section 12092.
The open carrying of an unloaded handgun at established
target ranges, whether public or private, while the person
is using the handgun upon the target ranges.
The open carrying of an unloaded handgun by a person
when that person is summoned by a peace officer to assist
in making arrests or preserving the peace while he or she
is actually engaged in assisting that officer.
The open carrying of an unloaded handgun incident to:
o Complying with paragraph (2) or (3) of
subdivision (f) of Section 12072 as it pertains to
that handgun.
o Subdivision (l) of Section 12078 as it
pertains to that handgun.
o Paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of Section
12078 as it pertains to that handgun.
o Complying with subdivision (c) or (i) of
Section 12078 as it pertains to that handgun.
The open and unloaded carrying of a handgun incident to
and in the course and scope of training of or by an
individual to become a sworn peace officer as part of a
course of study approved by the Commission on Peace Officer
Standards and Training.
The open and unloaded carrying of a handgun incident to
and in the course and scope of training of or by an
individual to become licensed pursuant to Section 12050 as
part of a course of study necessary or authorized by the
person authorized to issue the license pursuant to Section
12050.
(More)
AB 1934 (Saldana)
PageJ
The open and unloaded carrying of a handgun incident to
and at the request of a sheriff or chief or other head of a
municipal police department.
The open and unloaded carrying of a handgun by a person
when done within a place of business, a place of residence,
or on private property, if done with the permission of a
person who is exempt from the prohibitions set forth in
this section, as specified.
Notwithstanding the fact that the term "an unloaded
handgun" is used in this section, each handgun shall
constitute a distinct and separate offense under this
section.
For purposes of this section, the following shall apply:
o A handgun shall be deemed unloaded if it is
not "loaded" within the meaning of subdivision (g) of
Section 12031.
o The term "prohibited area" means any place
where it is unlawful to discharge a weapon.
o The term "public place" shall have the same
meaning as in Section 12031.
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
The severe prison overcrowding problem California has
experienced for the last several years has not been solved. In
December of 2006 plaintiffs in two federal lawsuits against the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation sought a
court-ordered limit on the prison population pursuant to the
federal Prison Litigation Reform Act. On January 12, 2010, a
federal three-judge panel issued an order requiring the state to
reduce its inmate population to 137.5 percent of design capacity
-- a reduction of roughly 40,000 inmates -- within two years.
In a prior, related 184-page Opinion and Order dated August 4,
2009, that court stated in part:
"California's correctional system is in a tailspin,"
the state's independent oversight agency has reported.
. . . (Jan. 2007 Little Hoover Commission Report,
"Solving California's Corrections Crisis: Time Is
(More)
AB 1934 (Saldana)
PageK
Running Out"). Tough-on-crime politics have increased
the population of California's prisons dramatically
while making necessary reforms impossible. . . . As a
result, the state's prisons have become places "of
extreme peril to the safety of persons" they house, .
. . (Governor Schwarzenegger's Oct. 4, 2006 Prison
Overcrowding State of Emergency Declaration), while
contributing little to the safety of California's
residents, . . . . California "spends more on
corrections than most countries in the world," but the
state "reaps fewer public safety benefits." . . . .
Although California's existing prison system serves
neither the public nor the inmates well, the state has
for years been unable or unwilling to implement the
reforms necessary to reverse its continuing
deterioration. (Some citations omitted.)
. . .
The massive 750% increase in the California prison
population since the mid-1970s is the result of
political decisions made over three decades, including
the shift to inflexible determinate sentencing and the
passage of harsh mandatory minimum and three-strikes
laws, as well as the state's counterproductive parole
system. Unfortunately, as California's prison
population has grown, California's political
decision-makers have failed to provide the resources
and facilities required to meet the additional need
for space and for other necessities of prison
existence. Likewise, although state-appointed experts
have repeatedly provided numerous methods by which the
state could safely reduce its prison population, their
recommendations have been ignored, underfunded, or
postponed indefinitely. The convergence of
tough-on-crime policies and an unwillingness to expend
the necessary funds to support the population growth
has brought California's prisons to the breaking
point. The state of emergency declared by Governor
Schwarzenegger almost three years ago continues to
(More)
AB 1934 (Saldana)
PageL
this day, California's prisons remain severely
overcrowded, and inmates in the California prison
system continue to languish without constitutionally
adequate medical and mental health care.<1>
The court stayed implementation of its January 12, 2010, ruling
pending the state's appeal of the decision to the U.S. Supreme
Court. On Monday, June 14, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed
to hear the state's appeal in this case.
This bill does not appear to aggravate the prison overcrowding
crisis described above.
COMMENTS
1. Need for This Bill
According to the author:
As part of a growing "open carry movement" in
California, gun enthusiasts have been openly carrying
unloaded handguns in public places like coffee shops
and restaurants, and at political rallies. Open carry
advocates seek to normalize the carrying of firearms
in public places. Their threatening and
confrontational conduct intimidates the public, wastes
law enforcement resources and needlessly increases the
risk of firearm-related deaths and injuries.
2. Background - The "Open Carry Movement" in California
California has some of the nation's strictest regulations
---------------------------
<1> Three Judge Court Opinion and Order, Coleman v.
Schwarzenegger, Plata v. Schwarzenegger, in the United States
District Courts for the Eastern District of California and the
Northern District of California United States District Court
composed of three judges pursuant to Section 2284, Title 28
United States Code (August 4, 2009).
(More)
AB 1934 (Saldana)
PageM
regarding gun ownership. One practice that has remained
unregulated is carrying an unconcealed, unloaded handgun. In
2004 and 2005, three bills unsuccessfully attempted to prohibit
this practice. (AB 2828 (Cohn) (2004); AB 2501 (Horton) (2004);
AB 98 (Cohn) (2005).) A new movement to promote the open
carrying of firearms in California and around the country has
heightened debate around the issue, as recently reported in the
New York Times:
For years, being able to carry a concealed handgun has
been a sacred right for many gun enthusiasts. In
defending it, Charlton Heston, the actor and former
president of the National Rifle Association, used to
say that the flock is safer when the wolves cannot
tell the difference between the lions and the lambs.
But a grass-roots effort among some gun rights
advocates is shifting attention to a different goal:
exercising the right to carry unconcealed weapons in
the 38 or more states that have so-called open-carry
laws allowing guns to be carried in public view with
little or no restrictions. The movement is not only
raising alarm among gun control proponents but also
exposing rifts among gun rights advocates.
The call for gun owners to carry their guns openly in
the normal course of business first drew broad
attention last summer, when opponents of the Obama
administration's health care overhaul began appearing
at town-hall-style meetings wearing sidearms. But in
recent weeks, the practice has expanded as gun owners
in California and other states that allow guns to be
openly carried have tested the law by showing up at
so-called meet-ups, in which gun owners appear at
Starbucks, pizza parlors and other businesses openly
bearing their weapons.
"Our point is to do the same thing that concealed
carriers do," said Mike Stollenwerk, a co-founder of
OpenCarry.org, which serves as a national forum.
"We're just taking off our jackets."
(More)
AB 1934 (Saldana)
PageN
The goal, at least in part, is to make the case for
liberalized concealed weapon laws by demonstrating how
uncomfortable many people are with publicly displayed
guns. The tactic has startled many business owners
like Peet's Coffee and Tea and California Pizza
Kitchen, which forbid guns at their establishments. So
far, Starbucks has resisted doing the same. (Locked,
Loaded, and Ready to Caffeinate, New York Times, March
7, 2010.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/08/us/08guns.html?pagewa
nted=print.)
3. Is Banning Open Carrying of Handguns Unconstitutional?
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution states,
"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a
free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall
not be infringed". (U.S. Const., Second Amend.) For many
years, courts have wrestled with the question of whether the
Second Amendment protects the individual's right to own a
weapon. In United States vs. Cruikshank (1875) 92 U.S. 542, the
Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment guaranteed states
the right to maintain militias but did not guarantee to
individuals the right to possess guns. Subsequently, in United
States vs. Miller (1939), the Court upheld a federal law banning
the interstate transportation of certain firearms. Miller, who
had been arrested for transporting a double-barreled sawed-off
shotgun from Oklahoma to Arkansas, claimed the law was a
violation of the Second Amendment.
The Court rejected Miller's argument, stating:
In the absence of any evidence tending to show that
possession or use of a "shotgun having a barrel of
less than eighteen inches in length" at this time has
some reasonable relationship to the preservation or
efficiency of a well regulated militia, we cannot say
that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep
and bear such an instrument. Certainly it is not
within judicial notice that this
(More)
AB 1934 (Saldana)
PageO
weapon is any part of the ordinary military equipment
or that its use could contribute to the common
defense. (United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174, 178
(1939).)
For many years following the Supreme Court's decision
in United States vs. Miller, the orthodox opinion
among academics and federal appeals courts alike was
that the Second Amendment to the United States
Constitution did not protect possession of firearms
unrelated to service in the lawfully established
militia. (Merkel, Parker v. District of Columbia and
the Hollowness of the Originalist Claims to Principled
Neutrality, 18 Geo. Mason U. Civil Right L. Journal,
251, 251.)
That changed in June 2008, when the United States Supreme Court
ruled in District of Columbia vs. Heller that a District of
Columbia complete ban on possession of a handgun in the home was
an unconstitutional violation of the Second Amendment.
(District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) 128 S. Ct. 2783, 2797.)
After a lengthy discussion of the historical context and meaning
of the Second Amendment, the Court stated:
Putting all of these textual elements together, we
find that they guarantee the individual right to
possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation.
This meaning is strongly confirmed by the historical
background of the Second Amendment. We look to this
because it has always been widely understood that the
Second Amendment, like the First and Fourth
Amendments, codified a pre-existing right. The very
text of the Second Amendment implicitly recognizes the
pre-existence of the right and declares only that it
'shall not be infringed.' As we said in United States
v. Cruikshank [citation omitted] '[t]his is not a
right granted by the Constitution. Neither is it in
any manner dependent upon that instrument for its
existence. The Second Amendment declares that it
shall not be infringed ...' " (Heller at 2797.)
(More)
AB 1934 (Saldana)
PageP
However, in the Heller decision, the Supreme Court also
stated:
Like most rights, the right secured by the Second
Amendment is not unlimited. From Blackstone through
the 19th-century cases, commentators and courts
routinely explained that the right was not a right to
keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner
whatsoever and for whatever purpose. For example, the
majority of the 19th-century courts to consider the
question held that prohibitions on carrying concealed
weapons were lawful under the Second Amendment or
state analogues. Although we do not undertake an
exhaustive historical analysis today of the full scope
of the Second Amendment, nothing in our opinion should
be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on
the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally
ill, or laws forbidding the
carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as
schools and government buildings, or laws imposing
conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale
of arms. n26
(More)
FOOTNOTES
n26 We identify these presumptively lawful regulatory
measures only as examples; our list does not purport
to be exhaustive. (District of Columbia v. Heller,
128 S. Ct. 2783, 2816-2817 (2008), citations omitted.)
Therefore, while the Heller decision established that the right
to own a firearm is a personal right, not one limited to
ownership while serving in a "well regulated militia," it also
held that the government may place reasonable restrictions on
that right such as restricting "carrying firearms in sensitive
places." It is not clear whether the Supreme Court will include
in its list of lawful regulatory measures prohibiting the open
carrying of unloaded handguns in public.
IS A BAN ON OPEN CARRYING OF HANDGUNS IN PUBLIC CONSTITUTIONAL?
4. Argument in Support
The California Police Chiefs Association states:
Current statutes do not presumptively prohibit the
exposed carrying of an unloaded handgun in public
areas. "Open carry" does not require a permit. By
contrast, carrying a concealed firearm does require
the applicant to demonstrate responsibility and a need
to their respective police chief or county sheriff.
As a result, there has been an increase in
controversial events where individuals openly carry
unloaded handguns in public streets and businesses.
For instance, a group of about 100 armed citizens
hoping to make it easier to carry loaded guns in
California gathered at a restaurant in the San
Francisco Bay area suburbs in February 2010.
People who open carry often carry ammunition
separately, which is permitted under current law.
According to CaliforniaOpenCarry.org, "... with a
little practice, one can easily load a handgun in
(More)
AB 1934 (Saldana)
PageR
under two seconds."
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. The California Police Chiefs
Association would submit that in the context of the
state's current economic challenges that the practice
of openly carrying a handgun in public areas has
created an additional drain on police services that
are already stretched thin.
5. Argument in Opposition
The California Rifle and Pistol Association states:
On behalf of the membership of the California Rifle and
Pistol Association (CRPA), I am expressing our opposition
to AB 1934 for many reasons, including the following:
AB 1934 does not take into account public and
private lands used by the public for outdoor recreation
purposes.
Hunters, fishermen, hikers, campers, and others
would not be able to openly carry a handgun while
recreating on vast tracts of public land.
Unarmed individuals would be at risk in remote areas
with no means to protect themselves.
AB 1934's checkerboard approach to allowing
individuals to carry a loaded or unloaded handgun outside
AB 1934 (Saldana)
PageS
of a vehicle in remote areas and not in a prohibited
areas adjacent to remote areas (e.g., campgrounds, going
to and from campgrounds, returning from fishing to a
campground, crossing a designated dirt road or trail,
etc.) would cause confusion for the public and make law
abiding citizens into criminals because they may not be
aware of the specific prohibited areas.
Many remote areas do not have cell phone coverage
making it impossible to call for law enforcement help.
Even if a person were able to call for help, the time for
law enforcement to respond would be too long to be of any
assistance. As an example, having a handgun could
literally mean the difference between life and death in
the case of a predatory mountain lion attack. Pepper
spray is not always effective at halting dangerous
animals and predators. And, in the case of attacks, you
will not have time to open a locked gun case to defend
yourself.
People need the option to carry a handgun for self
defense. Backcountry areas are known to harbor illegal
meth labs and marijuana gardens. The criminal element
that engages in these activities pose a threat to
hunters, fishermen, hikers, campers, and anyone who uses
public lands and private timberlands open to the public
for recreational purposes.
***************