Hermosa Beach — Gun rights advocates react to law
Scott Brownlie of Torrance makes his way along the Pier Plaza following a July 2010 litter pickup event. Photo by Olivia Kestin
Gun rights advocates said the protections of the Second Amendment are threatened by a new state law forbidding them to openly carry unloaded firearms, with ammunition near at hand. Opponents of the law promise a courtroom battle to determine the new law’s constitutionality.
“Open carry” proponents said they would fight back with a federal civil rights lawsuit, seeking an injunction against the newly-minted law, on Dec. 15, the anniversary of the passage of the Second Amendment.
Groups such as South Bay Open Carry gained the attention of beach city residents a couple years ago, when members participated in a trash cleanup on the streets of Hermosa Beach, while carrying firearms strapped to their shoulders and waists. They also created alarm among Manhattan Beach officials when they announced they would be openly present at the annual Hometown Fair. The reaction from local citizens was mixed at the two events and police reported no problems with group members in attendance.
A Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision issued earlier this year made it necessary for those wishing to openly carry handguns to make sure that firearms on their person remained unloaded, at least until an individual felt a an immediate and grave danger. That, according to proponents, placed a substantial burden on citizens wishing to engage in their Second Amendment rights.
The California Legislature has now created virtually a mirror image of the landmark United States Supreme Court decision issued in 2008. That decision maintained that individuals have the right to openly carry a loaded firearm for self-defense purposes; except in sensitive areas, such as schools and government buildings. The Higher court held that a law banning handguns, even though long guns had been exempted, was unconstitutional.
Charles Nichols, founder of the newly-formed non-profit organization, California Right to Carry, is very active in fighting the new law with an impending federal injunction his group is seeking against the bill in a few weeks.
“I and my supporters, have raised just over $4,000, which will go toward a Federal Civil Rights lawsuit seeking an injunction against California’s ban on Loaded Open Carry,” Nichols said.
In a recent press release to the state’s media outlets, Nichols announced that the lawsuit will be filed on the anniversary of the passage of the Second Amendment, hoping to garner more interest and educate the public about their constitutional right as US citizens to openly carry a handgun, both loaded and unloaded.
Harley Green, a former member of the South Bay Open Carry group, remains vocal on the issue.
“It appears that California, once again, leading the pack in the race to eliminate civil rights and ensure that criminals have the upper hand. Amidst record budget cuts, police layoffs, and massive prisoner early-release mandates, ‘Governor Long Gun’ feels the best course of action is to further restrict law-abiding citizens’ ability to defend themselves by banning open carry,” Green said.
Green added that he wonders if law enforcement agencies in California are less capable than other parts ofAmericain interacting with lawfully armed citizens who openly display their unloaded firearms.
As a recent transplant to Virginia, Green observed, “Here in Virginia, the police work alongside those of us who choose to open carry loaded guns when we are out in public with no negative interactions, no checks, and yet violent crime is significantly less here than in California.”
Green also expressed concern that law-abiding, tax paying Californians will be left to live under tyrannical laws while footing the bill for the inevitable legal challenges against the state, which he estimates could cost California millions of dollars to defend.
“Could Governor Long Gun and the rest of the elected officials up in Sacramento not have found better things to do with their time, such as fixing the education system, balancing the budget, and creating jobs, that they had to instead ban an activity which has had zero instances of public safety violations or criminal activity?”
Green expressed happiness over leaving California, adding, “that my fellow Virginians invite those who wish for something better to join us in the birthplace of the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights — especially the Second Amendment — the free state of Virginia.
South Bay Open Carry president Gene McCarthy said that Green’s comments on the bill echo everything he, too, believes. With three years as an LAPD officer in the mid ‘60s and 29 years of service with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, McCarthy has seen “the misery” in homes and on the streets of citizens victimized by crime.
“It is nature’s law to be able to carry a gun,” said McCarthy. “The vast majority of law-abiding citizens in this state cannot get a permit to carry a concealed weapon, unless you’re a movie star, someone else of notoriety, or someone who has connections with a police chief at a local law enforcement agency.”
McCarthy further criticized California Assemblyman Anthony Portantino who authored the bill.
“Portantino has denied without any reason whatsoever a citizen’s right to open carry. Yet, our Legislature doesn’t seem to be concerned about the recidivism rate among criminals in this state.”
McCarthy stated that around 600 people follow their organization on Facebook and SBOC has around 90 paying members.
Some dissent exists among local open carry advocates, with some current members of the California Right to Carry group critical of South Bay Open Carry; the former accusing the latter of being aligned with the CalGuns Foundation, an organization whose chairman is a vocal opponent of open carry in the state of California.
Charles Nichols, former SBOC member said, “The SBOC’s last event at the Manhattan Beach Hometown Fair drew only 8 people, six from SBOC and two guys I know whom I had referred to an attorney and who are suing the Upland PD over an open carry confrontation. Compare that to the 60 to 80 people who turned out at our monthly dinners just before I left.”
Former South Bay resident Eric Shaw, who now resides in Arizona with his wife and two-year-old son, and is a member of the NRA, Second Amendment Foundation and Arizona Citizens Defense League, told ER that when he lived in the South Bay no one he knew really talked about gun ownership, although he was aware of a few gun shops in the area, like one on PCH in South Torrance.
It was his wife, he said, who “encouraged me to go shooting together, and I have been an avid shooter and gun owner since.” Shop for the best iron sights for an AR 15 on Amazon.
As an adamant defender of the Second Amendment, Shaw wonders what a person might do if they were required to get a permit from their local sheriff’s department before being allowed to speak freely.
“Should the police be allowed to storm a person’s house simply because a suspicious neighbor wonders why the shades are always drawn? Should a judge be allowed to wave his hand and deny a suspect a jury trial? The U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights protects what the founders and states agreed were inalienable, natural rights of all people.”
Shaw sees the recently-passed California law as a “blatant civil rights infringement.”
“My wife and I have thought about one day moving back to California, but I’ve decided that we can’t live in a place where we are not permitted to exercise our natural right to self-defense. We left California for more economic freedom and an overall better quality of life. In moving toArizona, I’ve come to appreciate the greater freedoms we are afforded here in comparison to California. I am saddened that California politicians disrespect the citizens and have violated their rights in many ways,” he added.
Portantino, D-Pasadena, author of the legislation said, “We worked closely with law enforcement on this bill – both the California Police Chief’s Association and Police Officers Research Association of California (PORAC) – because they felt strongly that ‘open carry’ is not safe and that someone could get hurt or worse.”
On the proposed lawsuit Portantino said, “We live in America and they have the right to seek whatever course they wish. But we think, along with the California law enforcement community, that passage of this bill makes California a safer place to live.”