Gun Control

By Senator Mark Leno

One of the most important measures we can take to protect public safety is to keep firearms out of the hands of people who are prohibited from owning them due to criminal activity or mental illness. Unfortunately, there are more than 18,000 convicted felons and mentally ill persons in California who illegally possess their firearms, and this list grows by about 15 to 20 people each day. In the Bay Area alone, more than 2,500 people who once made legal purchases of guns now own them illegally due to subsequent issues that disqualify them from possessing weapons.

By Assemblymember Anthony Portantino

Finally, the ban on the open carrying of unloaded handguns is on the Governor’s desk. This bill is both necessary and urgently needed. Imagine walking into your local coffee shop and running into a man or woman carrying a semi-automatic pistol. Or, imagine getting out of your car, family in tow, and three armed men are walking through the parking lot.  Would you call the police or would you get back in your car and go home?

If you called the police, you’d be like many other Californians who beckon law enforcement and report the proliferation of gun-toters on Main Street, California. When the police officers arrive, they have to approach every public display of weapons as if those guns were loaded. In fact, most gun owners themselves are taught to treat every weapon as if it were loaded as a pure safety precaution.  Certainly, the police officer on the street is trained no differently.

By Dr. Dallas M. Stout
CA Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

Open Carriers expose their children to the dangerous practice.

--On March 20, 2011, in Baltimore, MD, a 4-year-old boy shot himself in the face and later died from his injuries. Authorities are trying to figure out... how the boy was able to get access to the weapon...

--On February 14, 2011, in Cherokee County, LA, a 2-year-old boy used a stool to retrieve a gun case in the home, opened the case to remove the small caliber semi- automatic gun that had a round chambered and fully loaded magazine, and shot himself in the upper right chest.

--On January 20, 2011, in Pittsburgh, PA, 5-year-old Gavin Thompson climbed onto a chair near his parents' bedroom closet and grabbed his part-time police officer father's duty weapon and accidently shot himself in the head.

By Assemblymember Anthony Portantino

Imagine walking into your local coffee shop and running into a man or woman carrying a semi-automatic pistol. Or, imagine walking up to an ATM machine and seeing three armed people standing on the sidewalk. Would you call the police or do you run the other way and hope the guns aren’t loaded? If you called the police on your cell phone, you’d be like many other Californians who call local law enforcement and report the gun toters. Like you, the police show up not knowing whether those wearing the guns are good guys or bad guys.

Believe it or not, this scenario has been playing out all too frequently in our neighborhoods, parks and restaurants across California. According to the California Police Chiefs Association and rank and file law enforcement, these situations sometimes get tense.

By Brian Leubitz

On Tuesday I got what must certainly rank in the top 5 of the most offensive emails I've received since starting Calitics over 5 years ago. A group is apparently planning on eliminating a Georgia ban on carrying weapons in a place of worship.

"We are literally one Jared Loughner away from a major massacre here in Georgia in one of our places of worship. Right now, you are in violation of the law, and a criminal, if you carry in your place of worship. Once H.B. 54 is passed, people like Jared Loughner will know that there is at least the potential for someone in a place of worship that would put him down before he could do any damage," said Mr. Parsons.

Shikha Hamilton
CA Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

As a mother of a 12-year-old daughter, the shooting of 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green and 19 other people brought up so many emotions: sadness, anger, frustration – all happening simultaneously. The same feelings we have gone through in the past all the many times we have seen this kind of massacre and tragedy occur: Columbine, Virginia Tech, Binghamton, West Nickels Mines School, Fort Hood, Granada Hills Jewish Community Center, California 101, Stockton’s Cleveland Elementary School, and many, many more. These shootings span the country and span over decades, and every single time, our hearts wrench as we watch the parents and families bury their loved ones.

By Irwin Nowick

Before I explain why guns are an issue in the new Arizona immigration law, I wanted to make a few personal and political points before I get into a legal discussion of the Arizona Immigration Law.  As was the case with the insurance comments of last week, the views expressed here are my own – though I have no doubt that the late Dr. Cavala would agree with the political observations.  What exactly that law encompasses changed on Friday because in what may rival one of the “gut and amend” specials that often occur of necessity in this State, the Arizona Law in SB 1070 was rewritten in Arizona HB 2162 which Governor Jan Brewer signed on Friday.