SB 1160 Amended (Portantino) – Opposition Letter
April 16, 2024 –
Dear Senator Portantino:
I am writing to express Gun Owners of California’s opposition to your SB 1160 in its newly amended form, which now seeks to penalize persons for openly carrying a firearm that is not registered to them.
The whole issue of the constitutionality of open carry bans and restrictions is presently before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Baird v Bonta. It would be prudent for the Legislature to wait for guidance from the court before advancing any additional restrictions on open carry.
Also, it’s important to note that over half of the legally owned firearms (potentially upwards of 25 million) in California are not registered, nor are they required to be. Millions upon millions of firearms were obtained by lawful citizens before any registration requirements were mandated by the legislature.
We firmly believe that scourge of criminal misuse of firearms can be solidly addressed without penalizing the lawful for the misdeeds of the unlawful – it will never have its anticipated resolution.
Sincerely,
Sam Paredes, Executive Director