Posted on 05/17/2011 10:12:10 PM PDT by SmithL
Saying you don't need a gun to order a cheeseburger, a California lawmaker Monday pushed through the Assembly a crackdown on carrying unloaded handguns in public places.
Assemblyman Anthony Portantino's legislation takes aim at a movement that encourages people to show up at public places with unloaded handguns strapped to their side.
"Our families deserve to feel safe in our parks and coffee shops," said Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge.
"You don't need a handgun to order a cheeseburger," he said. "You don't need a handgun to order a cup of coffee."
The "open carry" movement created shock waves in 2009 when about a dozen people carrying guns, including one with a military-style rifle, stood outside an Arizona convention center where President Barack Obama was speaking.
Sacramento was the site of a demonstration involving protesters with unloaded guns last year, and Portantino said a group of gun-wearing people rode a light-rail train into Pasadena and rallied near his office recently.
Portantino's Assembly Bill 144 would make it a misdemeanor to display an unloaded handgun in a public place or on a public street in a city or in prohibited areas of unincorporated county land.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Way to go, California. Disarm the law-abiding citizens, when you have no freaking way of disarming the criminal element.
More politics. Portantino is attempting to generate interest and liberal support for his plan to run again House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier.
Yet not a word for illegal cartel sponsored street gangs in his own neighborhood.
The Kooks have invaded and now are taking over all sense of order.
I would feel safer with a citizen carrying a firearm openly, not less so. These liberal morons will never understand.
A Democrat is now representing that area???? I remember not too long ago, that area was solidly conservative Republican.
Gads, I'm glad I moved to Texas when I did.
Easy solution - load them!
Remember, Huey Newton and the Black Panthers exploited an open-carry law back in the 1960’s to make their first show of force, and you know what happened after that.
If open-carry of unloaded weapons is legal, so be it. If open carry of a loaded weapon is legal, even better.
The Left hates an armed citizenry.
The most pressing problem in California today is the necessity of infringing on the rights of law abiding citizens. Well done.
Unfortunately yes. LCF used to be rock-ribbed conservative Republicans, but they’ve gerrymandered the district so badly that the Dems win every time now.
Unfortunately yes. LCF used to be rock-ribbed conservative Republicans, but they’ve gerrymandered the district so badly that the Dems win every time now.
Just a backdoor way to outlaw gun shows and firing ranges. I tell you, my beloved state is completely out of control. We’re looking at land in TN, WY, ID. Gonna join the eastward migration asap.
Why would anyone carry an unloaded gun? Did I miss something?
And so goes the downfall of one of the last bastions of real conservatism in SoCal. It breaks my heart. All of my kids were born in the Foothills, and I once thought that the area would always be our home.
Hell, unloaded they're not even a good club. Give me a 3 foot piece of pipe, lot cheaper.
Ca. would probably pass an anti 3 ft piece of pipe law then.
Hey, California geniuses, you might want to defend yourself against getting robbed on the way to get the “cheeseburger,” and on the way home for that matter.
Agreed, it’s very sad. It’s still represented by a Republican in Congress, but the state Senate and Assembly seats have been in the hands of the Dems for years now. The area is still pretty conservative, but less so than the old days. The representation is purely the result of where the corrupt legislature has drawn the lines - it ensures liberal victories.
Then you would have a gun and a pipe.
Get rid of the steel silverware too.
It will be a hoot to watch them stab each other with ecofriendly sporks.
That's what it's always about.
Never mind actually being safe.
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