New Law: California To Ban Open Carry Of Rifles
By
Marianne Russ
Monday, December 24, 2012
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A new ban on the “open carry “of shotguns and rifles in California cities takes effect next month. The law is a follow-up to the state’s ban on the open carry of handguns.
The handgun law took effect a year ago, and former Democratic State Assemblyman Anthony Portantino says reaction to that ban prompted the new one:
"The open carry activists started to encourage their members to take their rifles and shotguns on main street California and they created the problem."
Ron Cottingham is President of the Peace Officers Research
Association of California. He says the ban reduces public anxiety
and saves law enforcement resources:
"I think it means a safer California."
John Pierce with Opencarry-dot-org says the bans infringe on
gun-owners rights-but they will respect the change:
"They will obey the law, even though it is clearly bad
public policy and contrary to the second amendment."
Pierce says California is out of step with many other states,
which allow some form of open carry.
Most rural areas are exempt from the ban.