Portantino Open Carry Gun Bill Passes Senate Public Safety Committee

Assemblymember Anthony Portantino’s (D-La Cañada Flintridge) bill banning the "open carry'' of handguns is another step closer to becoming law. 

AB 144 on Tuesday passed the Senate Public Safety Committee 4 to 2. The measure makes it a crime to openly carry an unloaded handgun in any public place or street. Violations are a misdemeanor and punishable by up to one year in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000. Law enforcement personnel are exempt as are hunters and others carrying unloaded weapons under specified licensed circumstances.

Senators who voted for the bill were Loni Hancock, Carol Liu, Curren D. Price, Jr. and Darrell Steinberg, according to aroundthecapital.com, a website that tracks the progress of legislative measures. The senators who voted against AB 144 were Tom Harman and Joel Anderson. Into the category of abstention, absence or not voting fell Sen. Ron Calderon.

The bill is supported by the California Police Chiefs Association, PORAC- representing rank-and-file police officers, and Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca. The cities of Los Angeles, West Hollywood and Beverly Hills are also supporting the bill, as is the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

One group opposing the bill is the Gun Owners of California. Its chief lobbyist, Sam Paredes, told Patch during a January interview that the measure is merely, "a symbolic solution to a non-existent problem," Paredes said.

After seeing a proliferation of weapons on Main Street California, law enforcement officials sought the ban on these open displays of firearms. Portantino took up the cause and has worked with law enforcement on the “open carry” ban. 

"Our limited resources should not be diverted from real crime situations. Open Carry puts the public in danger as well as law enforcement personnel. As I’ve said before, it doesn’t take a hand gun to buy a cheeseburger,'' Portantino said in a prepared statement.

The bill next moves to Senate Appropriations for fiscal consideration.

Altadena Patch editor Dan Abendschein contributed to this report.