Gun Rights Activist Seeks to Educate

Cities across the country are taking a closer look at local gun-control laws after  the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Monday that municipalities and states must abide by the Second Amendment. Community gun rights activist group South Bay Open Carry applauded the verdict.

The decision in Monday's case, McDonald vs. City of Chicago, mirrors the high court's ruling two years ago in District of Columbia v. Heller that the Second Amendment fully protects an individual's right to own guns. With this new decision, the court has said that strict local ordinances could be seen as unconstitutional and a violation of the Second Amendment.

Hermosa Beach does not have its own gun laws and pursuant to  state law, residents here are allowed to publicly carry an unloaded gun. Members of South Bay Open Carry plan to demonstrate that right by carrying unloaded weapons as they clean up trash around Hermosa Beach on July 10.

Harley Green, the organization's 24-year-old founder, met with police Chief Greg Savelli last week to inform officers of the event. Green explained in an interview what the organization would like the city and police to learn from the  demonstration as well as sharing his thoughts about local gun-control laws.

Patch:  Can you tell us more about carrying unloaded guns to the trash pickup event and how it came about?

Harley Green: The event came about based on my and others' take on the need to educate the public about responsible gun ownership and the rights all Californians have to defend themselves. Additionally, regular citizens have become frustrated with government leaders who continually infringe on law-abiding citizens' rights to defend themselves.

Since open carrying of a firearm has always been legal in California it seemed like a great legal way to demonstrate our rights while easing the general public back into the notion of respecting the Second Amendment.

I decided that responsible gun owners and gun rights supporters should make themselves visible to the community in positive ways, such as community service, rather than ad-hoc inflammatory demonstrations. We hope that showing the public that our participants care about the community will spur constructive discussion and thought on the issues of gun rights in California, as opposed to the traditional negative image of gun owners portrayed in the modern media.

Patch: How long has South Bay Open Carry been an active organization here in Hermosa Beach?

Green: South Bay Open Carry was started by myself on June 5. I chose Hermosa Beach because it is my current residence, and I wanted to be able to find a way that I could contribute to the community in a positive way, while also advocating the rights Californians have to defend ourselves in public. However, I do not want to limit the movement's efforts to just Hermosa Beach. We plan on holding events and working with the other South Bay communities as time goes on, hence the name South Bay Open Carry.

Patch: How will Hermosa Beach police know that you and others will be carrying guns as a form of awareness, and not mistake you as violating weapons laws during the trash pickup event?

Green: Open carrying of firearms has always been legal in California, just like walking down the street. Carrying a firearm in California does not imply anything criminal. The firearms are carried for self-defense.

Within the city limits a police officer may, but is not required to, stop and ask to inspect an openly carried firearm to verify that it is unloaded. That is all an officer may legally do without additional probable cause of other crimes. This type of check is known as a 12031(e) stop or "e-check" from the California penal code section that defines it.

Identification of an individual open carrying may not be asked for and does not have to be provided unless the officer is detaining the individual for a crime. The U.S. Supreme Court was quite clear on this. Simply walking up and down a sidewalk openly carrying a firearm is a lawful act and a lawful act alone does not constitute "reasonable suspicion" for a police officer to make a stop.

Patch: The state Assembly voted 45-25 on June 1 to end California's open carry law and the bill has now passed the state Senate Public Safety Committee. As Hermosa Beach residents must follow the state gun control law, is part of the trash pickup event a reaction to the Assembly's decision?

Green: Our members have been actively opposing the bill and the principal author of the bill, Assemblywoman Lori Saldana, who is term-limited and regarded as a flake by many … The fact that the Assembly is even considering such a bill that seeks to restrict the rights of law abiding citizens shows how out of touch they are with the people of California. When the state is suffering from record unemployment, budget deficits, illegal immigration, skyrocketing taxes, education cuts and more, it seems downright irresponsible and shameful that they even take a second look at this bill.

Patch: How would this bill affect Hermosa Beach residents?

Green: There are so many improbable things that would have to happen for this bill to actually become an enforceable law (the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the Second Amendment, which forbids laws from infringing the right to keep and bear arms, applies to state and local governments as well).

Patch: Why do you think it's important to keep open carry laws in place?

Green: I don't. It has always been our right to openly carry a loaded gun for self-defense regardless of any law. Even the four U.S. Supreme Court justices who voted against the Heller decision found a common law right to keep and carry arms.

I think the current law, which requires openly carried firearms to be unloaded, should be repealed as well as the laws that prohibit one from carrying in many public areas of the city. Up until the current law, which was passed in July of 1967, went into effect, it was legal to carry a loaded gun throughout the state.

Patch: What do you say to residents who argue that ending California's open carry law will make communities safer?

Green: I, and many in this movement, are engineers, which means we operate based on facts and science. The burden of proof is upon the person making the claim. They would have to provide the empirical evidence proving their case, which is unlikely given that the empirical evidence proves just the opposite. Communities where one can openly carry a gun are safer for non-criminals. If one is a criminal on the other hand, the community will most decidedly become unsafe for them.

FBI and National Crime Center statistics continue to show that as gun ownership rises in an area, crime goes down.  Chicago is a "gun free zone" yet still has dozens of gun-related homicides on a regular basis.

Patch:  So then, why do you think this is an important issue for the community to think about and discuss?

Green: The most important thing is for the Hermosa Beach community to understand that it is legal to openly carry a firearm in town, in most places. When they see someone walking down a sidewalk [with a firearm] their initial response shouldn't be to dial 911. For one thing, that's illegal [because] 911 is reserved for emergency calls in Los Angeles County, nor should they dial the local number of the police department. Carrying a gun is legal.

Lastly, contrary to many peoples' belief, residents must understand that while the gun is unloaded, loaded magazines may be carried by the person. This enables the individual to quickly load the firearm when the need arises.

Patch: What do you want the community to know about July's trash pickup?

Green: The primary objective is to educate the people of Hermosa Beach in cooperation with the Hermosa Beach Police Department that it is legal to openly carry an unloaded firearm in many places within the city.  The secondary objective is to help clean up the city, and everyone is invited to help us pick up the trash … just bring a trash bag and gloves.

Patch:  Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Green: I care deeply about citizens' rights and personal liberty, not just gun rights. I encourage everyone to put aside their stereotypes and read our website to see who we are and what we are about. It saddens me to see so many people jump to conclusions and make harsh, negative, statements about citizens' rights without even spending five minutes to research facts. 

Coming up next on Hermosa Beach | Patch — we interview police Chief Greg Savelli about preparations for the July demonstration and local law enforcement.