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Portantino Honored by Police Chiefs for Open Carry Bill

The local San Gabriel Valley lawmaker was named "Legislator of the Year" by the state police chiefs association.

Anthony Portantino, D-La Canada Flintridge, was honored this week in Sacramento by a police chiefs association on account of sponsoring legislation banning the open carry of unloaded guns in public.

Portantino was named "Legislator of the Year" in a ceremony held by the California Police Chiefs Association (CPCA), according to a press release sent by his office.

Last year, Portantino's legislation in public was passed by the California Legislature and signed in to law by Governor Jerry Brown.  The legislation was backed by the CPCA and other law enforcement groups.

This year, Portantino sponsored new legislation that would ban the .

That bill, AB 1527, is also supported by the police chiefs association, and will be the subject of hearings during this year's legislative session.

Portantino represents Altadena, La Canada Flintridge, South Pasadena, San Marino, Monrovia, Glendora, Highland Park and other San Gabriel Valley cities.

Roberto Guerrero March 16, 2012 at 05:22 pm
@Pusddad, that premise that states that the Second Amendment only applies to the Federal Government has been debunked not once but twice by the Supreme Court cases of D.C vs. Heller (2008) and Mcdonald Vs. City of Chicago (2010), let alone just this year a Maryland Court just declared the open carry ban Unconstitutional. And if you read the full text of the second Amendment it goes "A well regulated Milita being necessary to the security of a free state, THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED". Just as the 4th Amendment states that the "right of the people" to be secured from unreasonable searches
Earle Miller March 16, 2012 at 05:24 pm
Well, pusddad, you could not be more comprehensively wrong. The Second Amendment applies to the states as well as to the federal government (McDonald v. Chicago, 130 S. Ct. 3020 (2010)), and it protects an individual right to bear arms untethered to the organized militia (DC v. Heller, 128 S. Ct. 2783 (2008)). Portantino's ban on open carry - of unloaded weapons, no less! - is disgusting. It is no surprise that the police chiefs association wants to maintain its monopoly of force, but this open carry ban is destined to be thrown out eventually.
It can't be repeated often enough: an armed society is a polite society.
Charles E. Nichols March 16, 2012 at 05:54 pm
@pussdad The US Supreme Court disagrees with you and since the Heller decision was released in 2008 the California Courts now disagree with you as well.
Even when the California Supreme Court thought that the Second Amendment was only about militias and applied only to the Federal government, since 1894 the California Supreme Court has recognized Open Carry as the lawful manner of carry in public. In 1924, the California Supreme Court cited Nunn v. Georgia which struck down a ban on carrying handguns in public even though it was still legal to carry loaded rifles and shotguns in public. The US Supreme Court also cited Nunn v. Georgia (as Nunn v. State) in its 2008 landmark decision on the Second Amendment affirming it as an individual right to keep and bear arms; openly in public. But you are entitled to your opinion. Everyone has one. http://CaliforniaRightToCarry.org
Victor March 16, 2012 at 06:06 pm
I don't know what is more despicable and contemptible: the man who cannot spell properly, or the faulty incantation of supposed rights under the United States Constitution by gun zealots who appear to gain all of their meager understanding of the constitution from gun rights advocacy websites.
Natalie March 16, 2012 at 07:36 pm
Actually, the Second Amendment wasn't proofread properly when it was published. The correct wording was: THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO KEEP AND ARM BEARS SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.
Victor March 16, 2012 at 07:40 pm
Ad hominem? Oooh -- Latin! I'm sorry that you were offended. Was calling Mr. Portantino and police chiefs "dispicable" and "contemptable" somehow not an ad hominem attack? Notice that you did not assert that the legislation was "dispicable," but, rather, that the "man" (that's the "hominem" part), himself, earned that epithet.
Thank you for the invitation to "try reading" Supreme Court cases. Perhaps you're also a lawyer who has litigated constitutional law issues like me, but I wonder whether you've ever actually read a full Supreme Court opinion. In fact, while some advocates argue that the reasoning of DC v. Heller could be extended to alleged open carry rights, the actual Heller decision is restricted to rights within one's own home. The McDonald v. Chicago case is simply a 14th amendment/incorporation decision and does not expand the scope of Heller. But if you get your information from websites run by gun rights advocacy groups that simply paraphrase case law or offer their own self-serving analysis of those decisions, you might believe otherwise.
StreetThugFactor March 16, 2012 at 08:09 pm
they are just spending too much time at the doughnut shop and the people that are packing will be doing their job. crime will go down and anything associated with law enforcement will be losing money. crime is big business.
Charles E. Nichols March 16, 2012 at 09:35 pm
If Victor were truly a lawyer he would know that the claim for relief does not limit the scope of a decision. If it did, Roe v. Wade would have been a toothless declaration issued by the US Supreme Court.
Governor Brown, as Attorney General for the State of California filed an Amicus Brief with the US Supreme Court asking them to limit the scope of the Heller decision to one's home when it applied the decision to the states via the McDonald decision. During the oral arguments for McDonald, Justice Scalia said that there wasn't going to be one interpretation of the Second Amendment for the states and another for the Federal government. Governor Brown thinks the Second Amendment applies outside of the home but more importantly, so does the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2009, Peter Vongxay appealed his conviction to the 9th Circuit. His attorney argued that the Second Amendment entails only the right to keep a loaded firearm in one's home; the rest of the decision being meaningless dicta. Not only did the 9th Circuit reject that argument it concluded that the "time, place and manner" paragraph of the Heller decision wasn't meaningless dicta, it is the law. The time, place and manner paragraph cites both Chandler and Nunn, two 19th Century cases which held that there is an individual right to openly carry a handgun in public while affirming bans on concealed carry. I don't think Victor is a lawyer. http://CaliforniaRightToCarry.org
pusddad March 16, 2012 at 09:43 pm
I did not know D.C. was a state.
pusddad March 16, 2012 at 10:03 pm
it looks like heller still acknowledged limits on gun freedoms to traditional lawful purposes, like protection in the home. i doubt walking around packing heat anyware except rural areas could be so construed. other limits like government buildings, airpalnes, schools and bars and felons also cannot fall under heller. thanks for educating me on mcdonald. the issue still is not so clear to justify stating police chiefs are violating their oaths by taking such a common sense position, however.
Bernard Azer March 17, 2012 at 02:02 pm
The California Police Chiefs Association is a political organization which does not represent the views of rank and file police officers, most of whom do not agree with restrictive guns laws for law abiding citizens. As it stands in California, issuance of concealed weapon permits varies from county to county, and is unconstitutionally inconsistent, subject to the discretion of the county sheriff. I have personally written a letter of good character for a physician colleage of mine who applied for a carry permit and resides in Orange County. He has received his permit. Myself, on the other hand, having similar reasons to carry, will be denied the same, because I am a resident of Los Angeles County. California citizens are now disabled from legally carrying a handgun for all legal purposes, while most of the rest of the states have a fair system of enabling their citizens to carry legally. This will eventually pan out in the courts, and ultimately the Supreme Court of the United States.
pusddad March 17, 2012 at 02:08 pm
there is a difference in open carry and concealed carry.
Bernard Azer March 17, 2012 at 02:12 pm
@pusddad Obviously, and now that open carry has been deemed illegal, and concealed weapon permits are scarcely issued inconsistently, what recourse does a law abiding citizen have?
Mitchell Miller March 17, 2012 at 03:37 pm
We live in a police state
pusddad March 17, 2012 at 06:42 pm
you can still keep a registered gun in your home.
Bernard Azer March 18, 2012 at 01:40 am
@pusddad I think you missed the point completely. This is about carrying a gun outside the home. Also, not all guns are registered, as this was only started for handguns in the 1980's and has not yet started for rifles and shotguns (2013). Registration is just another scheme that has done nothing to fight crime, but only at the expense of law-abiding citizens. Registration has been dropped at the Federal level and has failed in Canada-at great financial expense.
Ian March 18, 2012 at 12:22 pm
One thing to remember, is that when seconds count, the police are just minutes away.
Bill C. March 18, 2012 at 12:29 pm
Anyone who thinks rank and file officers support open carry doesn't know what they're talking about unless they can provide statistical facts that back that claim up. Where it's true that The California Police Chiefs Association is a political organization and don't represent the rank and file, I've never spoken to one officer who supports open carry. This doesn't mean they don't understand The Constitution or support it, but believe in this instance it makes their job more difficult and may lead to a tragedy at some point.
Bill C. March 18, 2012 at 12:33 pm
If they were always seconds away Ian we'd be living in that police state some people mistakenly believe we already inhabit.
Markos March 18, 2012 at 01:02 pm
Bill you were indoctrinated your whole life. You wouldn't know what a Police State was if it kicked you in the as*s. :)
Markos March 18, 2012 at 01:12 pm
Oh, and the Second Amendment is very clear. Stop regurgitating such non-sense. And EVERY civil servant peace keeper put their hand up, to take an oath to the Constitution. That includes the 2nd Amendment. Any civil servant peace keeper who violates that right is going against the oath that they swore to uphold, and should be considered a traitor. Mr. Portantino and the "so called" police officers who support such a Legislation are no exception. RESTORE THE CONSTITUTION. RESTORE THE REPUBLIC. VOTE RON PAUL 2012 FOR TRUE PROTECTION OF OUR EXPLICIT RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS BY OUR 2ND AMENDMENT OF OUR CONSTITUTION.. RON PAUL 2012.
Bill C. March 18, 2012 at 02:14 pm
From a Constitutional point of view, a police officer's job is narrow, specific, and subject to legislation and judicial review. Like it or not, that's how it is. Cops don't make the laws they simply apply them as directed by the courts and policy.
Bill C. March 18, 2012 at 02:15 pm
Your arrogance is only outweighed by your stupidity Markos. Look at you trying to shut down my right to speak, a right guarenteed by The Constitution I believe, while attempting to sound scholarly while handpicking what rights you want to uphold. That's pretty funny stuff. In other words, you're just another kook as is your hopeless candidate.
Markos March 18, 2012 at 02:32 pm
Lol. I am not "trying" to inhibit your free speech, nor could i. I made a statement to stop regurgitating such non-sense, but that doesn't mean i have the right to force you, nor do i have the right to not allow you to say what you will. The 1st Amendment guarantees my free speech, but i CANNOT use force for such a thing. The Constitution is a great document and Liberty is not a "kooky" thing, it's a great thing. I noticed there were no real replies of substance to the issue at hand, just angry name calling, which becomes evident that it may be because you cant refute the law of the land, which is the Constitution? ... Ahh, it's ok, Hope one day you'll realize the state that this country is in before its too late. Good Luck to you, brother.
Ian March 18, 2012 at 03:25 pm
(I actually said that the cops are just minutes away, not seconds).
Bill C. March 18, 2012 at 11:20 pm
I know Ian, seconds away at all times means we'd be living in a police state.
Bill C. March 18, 2012 at 11:31 pm
What part of, "From a Constitutional point of view, a police officer's job is narrow, specific, and subject to legislation and judicial review" are you confused about Markos? You obviously know nothing about police officers or what duties they are required by law and policy to apply when working and are, as I said, a kook who isn't looking at all the nuances that are involved in police work. You can gripe like most do when faced with facts they don't want to hear or understand but that changes nothing. I don't need a reading of The Constitution or a lecture from a "kook" to know what duty is and to take seriously someone who states that any police officer who doesn't apply the laws of this state in the manner you believe is a "traitor", doesn't work for me. Good luck to your candidate but really, he doesn't have a prayer but I'd take him over Obama.
dan watson March 19, 2012 at 07:30 pm
Bernard, the Police Officers Research Association of California (PORAC) represents virtually all California Police Officer Associations. PORAC was a co-sponsor of the open-carry legislation.
I'm not sure what you mean when you state that the California Police Chiefs Association is political. It represents all the Police Chiefs in California whose officers protect over 75% of the State's population. It's purpose is support training, resources, technology, etc. to provide public safety to Californians. The organization does take positions on legislation and initiatives that impact public safety. Cal-Chiefs does not financially endorse measures or candidates.
Sam March 20, 2012 at 01:01 am
Wow a donut shop that's so creative, "StreetThugFactor," that's a fantastic name by the way, how many times have you been to jail? Parole or probation?
mark h. March 20, 2012 at 05:36 pm
Chuck, you don't cite cases, just your opinion on rules of law.
If you are referring to In re Application of Rameriz, 193 Cal. 633 as authority for your point that the California Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban applicable only to aliens - no they did not. They upheld the ban - although the Court's reasoning is suspect in light of Heller and McDonald. And although I suspect you will disagree with me - I put the citation in so everybody who is so inclined can read it and see your analysis is wrong -that is, if you are referring to this old case. As far as your claim that the US Supreme Court upheld open carry - it did not do so in Heller, nor did it do so in McDonald. It did not do so in United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 which was decided on commerce clause grounds, nor did it do so in US v. Miller 307 U.S. 174 which would now be inconsistent with Heller. I encourage anybody interested to read the cases. Don't rely upon me. Rely upon your own reading.

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