Posted on 01/26/2012 2:11:36 PM PST by marktwain
A bill introduced by Anthony Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge, would ban rifles, shotguns and other long guns from being openly displayed in public, even while unloaded.
Portantino wrote in a press release that the bill is inspired by guns right protest groups that openly carry long guns in public. He noted that following the passage of AB 144, the bill he introduced last year barring the open carry of handguns, the groups began to show up instead with automatic rifles and shotguns at rallies.
“Last year, the state made it clear that this type of behavior had no place on Main Street, California,” Portantino wrote. “Unfortunately, the Open Carry community has decided to once again force our hand by escalating their unnecessary activities and entering our communities with AR-15s and other long guns. I had hoped cooler heads would have prevailed and this law wouldn’t be necessary, obviously that hasn’t been the case and I must once again take action to ensure the safety of our communities.”
California Right to Carry, a nonprofit group that has filed a lawsuit over AB 144, was swift to condemn Portantino and his new legislation.
"Portantino is an idiot," wrote Charles Nichols, the president of California Right to Carry. "By banning long guns in public, Portantino makes it impossible for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to conclude that long guns carried in public are an alternative to openly carried handguns. The Federal Courts take a dim view on complete bans of anything and both the US Supreme Court and the California Supreme Court have already held that such bans are unconstitutional."
Portantino noted that his legislation provides "exemptions to enable safe transportation, lawful hunting, and use by law enforcement officials."
He expects the bill to begin hearings in March or April.
All these controlling types of laws are specifically directed at law abiding citizens, not criminals.
Really? I used to run with a crowd that shot Class-III weapons. They were all very wealthy people. Are there that many rich folks out there in the land of fruits and nuts?
/johnny
F That sniveling socialist SOB, The DPRK is an unflushed toilet to start with and people like Portantino (S) seem to go out of their way to make a bad situation worse through MORE control.
Dear Rep. Portantino; you say that this measure is necessary to ensure the safety of your community. Please tell me of one incident where the open carry of firearms by a law abiding person has resulted in a decrease in safety. You have made an assertion - prove it's truth.
The legislator makes no bones about it. He says point blank that the reason he is pushing these bills is because “people are exercising their rights”! It makes him mad that people are exercising their rights, so he wants to take away these rights.
He makes me sick to my stomach and we need to escalate the fight against not only these bills, but to reform the conceal weapons laws to make California a shall issue state. That fight will be won in the courts, not in the legislature, and is the only way to truly defeat people like Portantino - take away their power to infringe on the rights of the people.
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