Mike
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http://cbs5.com/local/san.bruno.open.2.1578800.html
SNIP
Mar 21, 2010 12:14 pm US/Pacific
Bay Area Gun Advocates Making Gains Normalizing Firearms in Public
CBS News (CA) [Original Title by CBS5]
SAN BRUNO (BCN) ―
. . .
Locally, the Bay Area Open Carry movement is a loose affiliation of individuals who meet about once a month to advocate for gun rights.
Most participants said they openly carry a firearm, or "open carry," to exercise their Second Amendment right to bear arms, or to protect themselves and deter crime.
One participant said a primary goal of the meetings is to normalize firearms and encourage the public to support loosening California's relatively stringent gun laws.
"It's a battle worth fighting," said Walter Stanley, a 32-year-old political consultant from Livermore who attends the open carry meetings. "It's something I feel so strongly and so positively about. I want other people to have the option to carry firearms."
Stanley said he openly carries an unloaded weapon about 80 percent of the time.
. . .
the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office said in a statement . . .
"Simply put, it is not recommended to openly carry firearms," the statement continued.
Capt. Tim Schultz of the Walnut Creek Police Department said he agreed with that recommendation.
"That pretty well summarizes it," he said of San Mateo County's position.
Schultz said that from time to time, concerned Walnut Creek citizens report people with guns who turn out to be open carriers.
The Feb. 6 Bay Area Open Carry meeting at the Buckhorn Grill didn't solicit any calls though, Schultz said.
Officer Boaz Mariles, a spokesman with the San Francisco Police Department, said he didn't know of any statistics tracking open carriers.
It's therefore hard to say if the practice has increased, he said, but in January, the Police Department issued a reminder to police to respect the rights of gun carriers, Mariles said.
Officers are permitted to check guns and ensure they are not loaded, but they cannot run the weapon's serial number or do any other investigation of it.
Stanley said police seem to be more familiar with open carry laws than they were a few months ago, which is evidence the group's goals are beginning to be realized.
"It's progress," he said. "Not ultimate progress, but moving in the right direction."
UPDATE: Apparently republished with original title by KRON 4 News at http://www.kron.com/News/ArticleView/tabid/298/smid/1126/ArticleID/5386/reftab/536/t/Bay%20Area%20Gun%20Advocates%20Working%20to%20Normalize%20Firearms%20in%20Public/Default.aspx
http://cbs5.com/local/san.bruno.open.2.1578800.html
SNIP
Mar 21, 2010 12:14 pm US/Pacific
Bay Area Gun Advocates Making Gains Normalizing Firearms in Public
CBS News (CA) [Original Title by CBS5]
SAN BRUNO (BCN) ―
. . .
Locally, the Bay Area Open Carry movement is a loose affiliation of individuals who meet about once a month to advocate for gun rights.
Most participants said they openly carry a firearm, or "open carry," to exercise their Second Amendment right to bear arms, or to protect themselves and deter crime.
One participant said a primary goal of the meetings is to normalize firearms and encourage the public to support loosening California's relatively stringent gun laws.
"It's a battle worth fighting," said Walter Stanley, a 32-year-old political consultant from Livermore who attends the open carry meetings. "It's something I feel so strongly and so positively about. I want other people to have the option to carry firearms."
Stanley said he openly carries an unloaded weapon about 80 percent of the time.
. . .
the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office said in a statement . . .
"Simply put, it is not recommended to openly carry firearms," the statement continued.
Capt. Tim Schultz of the Walnut Creek Police Department said he agreed with that recommendation.
"That pretty well summarizes it," he said of San Mateo County's position.
Schultz said that from time to time, concerned Walnut Creek citizens report people with guns who turn out to be open carriers.
The Feb. 6 Bay Area Open Carry meeting at the Buckhorn Grill didn't solicit any calls though, Schultz said.
Officer Boaz Mariles, a spokesman with the San Francisco Police Department, said he didn't know of any statistics tracking open carriers.
It's therefore hard to say if the practice has increased, he said, but in January, the Police Department issued a reminder to police to respect the rights of gun carriers, Mariles said.
Officers are permitted to check guns and ensure they are not loaded, but they cannot run the weapon's serial number or do any other investigation of it.
Stanley said police seem to be more familiar with open carry laws than they were a few months ago, which is evidence the group's goals are beginning to be realized.
"It's progress," he said. "Not ultimate progress, but moving in the right direction."
UPDATE: Apparently republished with original title by KRON 4 News at http://www.kron.com/News/ArticleView/tabid/298/smid/1126/ArticleID/5386/reftab/536/t/Bay%20Area%20Gun%20Advocates%20Working%20to%20Normalize%20Firearms%20in%20Public/Default.aspx
