This summer, the California legislature came within a whisker of enacting a state-wide ban on open carry. [Note: current law allows owners to display unloaded weapons.] sfgate.com reports that the LA City Council is now working on creating a city-wide open carry ban. “On Friday [Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti’s motion to explore the possibility of an open carry ban] was seconded by six of his City Council colleagues on the motion, which he called necessary in the wake of recent shootings in Tucson and gun-related incidents on LA school campuses this week. Garcetti says carrying even an unloaded handgun can be intimidating and threaten public safety.”
While the Supreme Court’s McDonald decision—striking down Chicago’s handgun ban—-makes this knee-jerkery a non-starter, it brings new attention to the open carry movement.
The OC folks haven’t had a lot of press lately, and theirs is the cutting edge of the gun rights movement. If the LA Council pursues this plan and enacts an ordinance, a successful legal challenge could help extend gun rights outside the home.
In fact, I spoke with an NRA guy active in the Chicago area about how U.S. gun law will eventually shakeout in regards to concealed and/or open carry, now that the Supremes have incorporated the Second Amendment.
“It’ll probably be like a car. You can buy it and use it on your own property without state interference. Once you enter public road, you’re subject to rules and regulations regarding safety.”
For whatever it’s worth, a guy open carrying an “assault rifle” in front of a Utah mall the other day (http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=14047833) was eventually charged with disorderly conduct (http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=14078120&s_cid=rss-148). Particularly interesting was an officer’s response to the claim, “Utah is open carry.”
“Not for an assault rifle,” the officer replied.
All that being said, despite Utah’s fairly lax firearms laws, it doesn’t surprise me that especially just after Tucson, the average passer-by would be frightened by someone obviously carrying a weapon, and it doesn’t seem too weird to charge a guy for scaring a bunch of shoppers.
If it’s legal, whose fault is it that someone is scared of it? There’s a strip club right across from a church near me, and plenty of people would like disorderly something or other used or rights revoked to get rid of the strip club, but, it’s a free country, and the church people are free to be offended.
Police use Disorderly Conduct for all sorts of crap. Police in the Milwaukee/Madison area would use it on handgun open-carriers even after the state Attorney General told them to stop. And then a court case or two were won by citizens because of it. (Current case in progress: “The Madison Five.”)
I’ve mainly wondered when open carrying a rifle is and is not “brandishing.” Seems like if you’d touch it at all while it’s slung over your shoulder, it’d be brandishing. I don’t know.
Anyway, I’m not trying to argue too hard For carrying rifles in heavily-populated areas. I get pulled in a couple different directions on the debate, myself. But figured I’d argue the opposing view a bit today.
It’s damn decent of Los Angeles to protect the wolves from the sheep.
Here in PA we sometimes have counties or municipalities who try to draft and then enforce their own little versions of the second amendment. They regularly get spanked back down and then gun owners can continue to exercise their 2A rights under our state’s current laws.
Except for Philly. That’s a whole different world for gun ownership. So unfortunately, the political snakes in LA may find a way to do what they want.
I guess that only the badguys should have guns, and the law abiding citizen should be banned from having any guns. We all know how no crime happens in the states with strict gun laws. LMAO
So…what IS the point of unloaded open carry? Show n’ tell?
Agreed, it sounds stupid. Can Californians carry a loaded mag outside of the pistol? If so, in an emergency I guess it wouldn’t take too, too long to slam in a magazine and rack the slide.
It believe it was the Lethal Force Institute (but I could be mistaken) that found that the average, non-athlete, human being can cover seven yards in about one and a half seconds. I don’t think that I could draw a pistol and a separate magazine, insert it, rack the slide, then aim and fire in under 1.5 seconds. I know a few current and former law enforcement officers, and I don’t think any of them could do it either.
If the regulatory regime forbids open carry of firearms (and everybody knows you have to be rich/politically-connected to get a ccw permit in California, they’re not for us plebs), then I guess you’re stuck with pepper spray or ax handles (which are hard to justify carrying around).
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