OCDO Press Release - Assemblywoman Saldana misleads public - AB 1934 tramples property rights

OpenCarry.org ^ | May 27, 2010 | John Pierce

[majstoll]

But even more disturbing than Saldana's histrionic approach to marketing her 9,996 word bill creating or amending 8 sections of California's complicated gun laws is that fact that she has misled legislators, the media, and the public at large into believing that AB 1934 would not impact private property rights. For example, Ms. Saldana flatly warranted on San Diego 6 News that "The bill would ban open carry in public places - on private property, you're still allowed to carry a gun." See http://www.sandiego6.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?articleID=778999

But as Mr. Pierce explained in his recent Op-Ed, all private property in California is considered under the law to be a "public place" unless securely guarded or fenced - "remarkably, AB 1934 actually strips private property owners of their current right to allow open carry on their own land. Privately owned land is presumptively a “public place” under California law. As Justice Richard Aldrich of the California Appeals Court recently ruled in People v. Strider,

“[p]laces of business and parking lots on private property, open to the general public, have consistently been held to be public places . . . [as is] the area outside a home in which a stranger is able to walk without challenge. . . . The term public place generally means a location readily accessible to all those who wish to go there . . . . The key consideration is whether a member of the public can access the place without challenge.”

So anyone who owns a business, a home with a yard, or any other land, even a farm or ranch, should be concerned about AB 1934 because absent physical barriers or guards, the business or land is considered a “public place” under Saldana’s bill."

[majstoll]

The California Assembly votes on Saldana's bill tomorrow - if you live in California, now would be the time to call your Assembly rep and urge him to vote against AB 1934.

[Myrddin]

The natural consequence of this is the addition of fences around everything that was once "accessible without challenge". We become an armed camp to protect our private property rights.

[Myrddin]

It might be a great time to buy stock in chain link fence material suppliers. That's one of the fastest, cheapest ways to fence off an area. Electrically controlled, chain driven sliding gates as well for driveways.

[Dan Nunn]

Going by Wikipedia, the California Assembly's breakdown is:

49 Democrat
29 Republican
1 Independent

Not a good sign...