'Open Carry' Gun Ban Heads to Governor

The bill that would make it illegal to openly carry unloaded handguns in public is awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown's signature. 

Introduced by Assemblyman Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge), is intended to target the "open carry movement,'' where people protesting gun control laws gather in public and display their firearms. Last year, a similar measure introduced by former Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña, died in the final moments of the 2010 session because of technical wrangling. 

It cleared the Senate Thursday and passed the lower house on Friday with a vote of 44-30, said Portantino spokeswoman Wendy Gordon.

“This law will safeguard families confronted by pistol-packing gun enthusiasts and will shield law enforcement personnel from tense situations where they don’t know if the gun is loaded or unloaded,'' Portantino said in a prepared statement.

In Thursday's Sacramento Bee, Sen. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, criticized the measure for "further narrowing peoples' Second Amendment rights."

LaMalfa added that open carry "isn't a problem for anybody except for the gun grabbers that continually chip away and narrow our basic rights."

AB 144 makes it a crime to openly carry an unloaded handgun in public places. Violations will now be a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000. Exemptions include law enforcement personnel, hunters and gatherings such as military events and gun shows.

California currently allows gun owners the right to display weapons, though they must be unloaded. Carrying loaded firearms in public is already against the law in California.

In a prepared statement, San Mateo Police Chief Susan Manheimer, Past-President of the California Police Chiefs Association, said, “The open display of firearms in crowded public places creates very real public safety issues--both for the public and for police officers.

"This is a good-sense public safety bill and we are hoping Governor Brown signs into law.”

The Governor now has 30 days to sign the bill into law.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Assemblyman Anthony Portantino twice introduced the open carry ban. In fact, last year it was former Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña.