“It was Governor Ronald Reagan of California who signed the Mulford Act in 1967, ‘prohibiting the carrying of firearms on one’s person or in a vehicle, in any public place or on any public street.’ The law was aimed at stopping the Black Panthers, but affected all gun owners.
“Twenty-four years later, Reagan was still pushing gun control. ‘I support the Brady Bill,’ he said in a March 28, 1991 speech, ‘and I urge the Congress to enact it without further delay.’”
http://keepandbeararms.com/newsarchives/XcNewsPlus.asp?cmd=view&articleid=2955
Another measure we can use to judge the Gipper is how many gun control bills he signed into law as president. None, I believe.
Another conclusion: At best, Reagan was not above playing politics . At worst, maybe he had his own elitist streak. If so, He kept it sufficiently suppressed for eight years.