CA Governor Jerry Brown signs ban on “open carry” of unloaded long guns!
Wrong thing, wrong way.
There is no such thing as “gun violence.”
There is only “human violence.”
AB1527, which will make it a misdemeanor to display unloaded long guns (rifles and shotguns) in a public place was signed into law by California Governor, Jerry Brown, today. According to SFGate.com:
Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-La Cañada-Flintridge, said he wrote AB1527 after gun rights advocates began carrying unloaded long guns to protest a law from last year that prohibited the display of handguns.
The measure will make it a misdemeanor to display an unloaded firearm in a public place. It includes dozens of exemptions for hunters, members of the military, rural Californians, and those bringing their guns to shooting ranges or gunsmiths.
Portantino said in a statement that he had hoped the ban he carried last year on the open carry of handguns would be sufficient, but after gun rights advocates showed up at a police fundraiser carrying long guns, “it became clear that there was more work to do.”
“I want to thank Governor Brown for recognizing the importance of this public safety measure that will help reduce the threat of gun violence for the public and for law enforcement,” he said.
Yes, Anthony Portantino (who was born in New Jersey – home to many restrictive firearms laws) authored the earlier bill that made it illegal to carry unloaded handguns in public places, too. He came to California in 1986 to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.
Most of us in California find the State Legislature VERY entertaining! 😉 Appallingly so!
And yes, there is more work to do – some of the gun control measures carried out in Nazi Germany around 1938 come to mind. Portantino seems to be a very frightened man who is out of touch with the U.S. Constitution and with American values. I often suggest that such folks take up residence in a foreign, nondemocratic country under a repressive regime, where gun control is enforced rigorously. That would seem to be a logical choice for the minority of people who are uncomfortable with the Constitutional Rights of all Americans, upon whom they try to inflict their own, personal, misguided views.
Expatriation appears to be a good solution for such people. More simply – America: Love It or Leave It.
According to Forbes, as of 2010, La Cañada Flintridge ranks as the 143rd most expensive U.S. city to live in, with a median home price of $1,321,367. Want to bet whether or not Mr. Portantino is a member of the “top 1%” of income earners? 😉 It is not just the Republican rich who seek to control the rest of us.
Republicans in both houses of the California Legislature called the measure an infringement of Second Amendment Rights. They are correct, THIS time, 😉 but sadly, it will take court cases to undo the misguided efforts of California’s Democratic majority in the Legislature.
Opponents, including the National Rifle Association, said the numerous exemptions included in the ban showed that it was unnecessarily restrictive and underscored that long guns are an integral part of American culture.
Ask Jefferson. Ask Madison. They are dead now, but they authored enough writings on the subject to make their views clear to later Americans.
Just to give all of you an idea where extremists (Democrats, THIS time!) in the California Legislature would LIKE foolish laws to take us, it is only necessary to look at some of the OTHER bills that were passed by the California Legislature, but which Governor Jerry Brown vetoed:
- SB1366, would have required owners to report stolen or lost firearms to authorities within 48 hours of discovering them missing <We need a LAW for this? 😉 >
- Another bill which would have allowed law enforcement officers to fine parents whose children break the law by taking BB guns to public places
- AB2460, which would have prevented law enforcement officials and members of the military from selling “unsafe handguns” <whatever THEY are!> to the general public
For the record, in California, a law was passed that required microstamping (a technology that, arguably, does not yet EXIST) capabilities in handguns STARTING IN February of 2010 (that’s right, TWO and a half YEARS AGO) for handguns to be sold (“safe” handguns?). Since the technology does not yet exist, the law, which is nevertheless “on the books,” is on hold. 
When I first came to California, about 20 years ago, there was a little restaurant in downtown Livermore, on First Street, called “Malley’s,” and, on the high walls of the old place, hung Malley’s firearms collection of long guns, safely out of reach. It looks like “times have changed,” and not for the better.
California is a great place to visit, and a great place to live. A majority of Californians would probably agree that the California Legislature is generally out-of touch, and a minority of Californians would probably like to fire ALL of them with the hope of starting new. It is important for folks who are NEW to California to understand the problems and the quirks of California State Government. It is also important, for visitors who merely want to stay out of JAIL!
And that is why I discuss such things here….
-Bill at
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