(GunReports.com) — Responding to a movement that promotes the brash public display of firearms, California lawmakers last week moved forward legislation that would outlaw the open carrying of unloaded handguns in public places.
Four previous attempts in the Legislature to prohibit the practice have failed over the last seven years, but the proposal has taken on a heightened profile this year in the wake of organized efforts to encourage others to show up at rallies and meet up at restaurants while carrying guns in visible holsters.
It’s illegal to openly carry a loaded weapon, although currently you can carry an unloaded weapon and have ammunition on your person.
This year’s measure, AB 144 by Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-Pasadena, passed in the Assembly last month and on Tuesday passed its first test in the Senate, winning approval from the Public Safety Committee.
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