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Senate Bill 661 is Gutted
Thanks to the efforts of members of California Right To Carry, a California nonprofit association of Second Amendment activists, the bill has been gutted and no longer deals with firearms.
Senate Bill 661, authored by Democrat State Senator Ted Lieu (Redondo Beach) would have expanded California's current so-called Gun Free School Zones to 2,000 feet from a K-12 public or private school.
Which is to say virtually every urban area of the state would have fallen within a Gun Free Zone.
The bill would have made it a crime to transport a handgun into, or out of, one's home unless his property was surrounded by a fence sufficiently tall to prevent persons from entering the property.
Driveways would have required similar gates as well.
In short, unless one's private property was entirely enclosed by a fence and it was located within 2,000 feet of a K-12 school it would have been a crime to transport a handgun.
Simply transporting an unloaded handgun, locked in a case, to your automobile in your driveway or parked in front of your house would have been a criminal offense.
Charles Nichols, President of California Right To Carry, threatened to bring a Federal lawsuit to overturn the bill if it became law.
Mr. Nichols has already filed a Federal lawsuit seeking to overturn California's 1967 law making it a criminal offense to openly carry a loaded firearm.
Senator Ted Lieu - The Author of the Bill
Democrat Senator Ted Lieu was elected in a special election on February 15th, 2011 to the 28th State Senate District to fill the seat left empty by the death of State Senator Jenny Oropeza.
Charles Nichols, President of California Right To Carry, had a brief conversation last year with Senator Lieu expressing his opposition to the bill, as well as his opposition to AB 144, California's ban on openly carrying an unloaded handgun.
Mr. Nichols pointed out that the voter turnout in his special election was extremely light (12%) and it would only take a little over eleven thousand signatures of registered voters to force the Senator into a runoff election.
Mr. Lieu's district office is located in the city of Redondo Beach. The entire city would have become a "Gun Free Zone" had his bill passed. The same is true of nearly every city in the district.
In a district with nearly half a million registered voters, it would not have been too difficult to gather the signatures necessary to force Mr. Lieu into a recall election.
Worse for the Senator, he now finds himself a victim of redistricting. He no longer has Wilmington or Long Beach Democrats to reelect him.
Senator Lieu did not vote for final passage of AB 144, the ban on openly carrying an unloaded handgun. He abstained.
Instead, Mr. Lieu turned his attentions to banning shark fin soup. Not to mention his ban on the use of tanning booths by persons under the age of 18.
Thanks to the efforts of members of California Right To Carry, a California nonprofit association of Second Amendment activists, the bill has been gutted and no longer deals with firearms.
Senate Bill 661, authored by Democrat State Senator Ted Lieu (Redondo Beach) would have expanded California's current so-called Gun Free School Zones to 2,000 feet from a K-12 public or private school.
Which is to say virtually every urban area of the state would have fallen within a Gun Free Zone.
The bill would have made it a crime to transport a handgun into, or out of, one's home unless his property was surrounded by a fence sufficiently tall to prevent persons from entering the property.
Driveways would have required similar gates as well.
In short, unless one's private property was entirely enclosed by a fence and it was located within 2,000 feet of a K-12 school it would have been a crime to transport a handgun.
Simply transporting an unloaded handgun, locked in a case, to your automobile in your driveway or parked in front of your house would have been a criminal offense.
Charles Nichols, President of California Right To Carry, threatened to bring a Federal lawsuit to overturn the bill if it became law.
Mr. Nichols has already filed a Federal lawsuit seeking to overturn California's 1967 law making it a criminal offense to openly carry a loaded firearm.
Senator Ted Lieu - The Author of the Bill
Democrat Senator Ted Lieu was elected in a special election on February 15th, 2011 to the 28th State Senate District to fill the seat left empty by the death of State Senator Jenny Oropeza.
Charles Nichols, President of California Right To Carry, had a brief conversation last year with Senator Lieu expressing his opposition to the bill, as well as his opposition to AB 144, California's ban on openly carrying an unloaded handgun.
Mr. Nichols pointed out that the voter turnout in his special election was extremely light (12%) and it would only take a little over eleven thousand signatures of registered voters to force the Senator into a runoff election.
Mr. Lieu's district office is located in the city of Redondo Beach. The entire city would have become a "Gun Free Zone" had his bill passed. The same is true of nearly every city in the district.
In a district with nearly half a million registered voters, it would not have been too difficult to gather the signatures necessary to force Mr. Lieu into a recall election.
Worse for the Senator, he now finds himself a victim of redistricting. He no longer has Wilmington or Long Beach Democrats to reelect him.
Senator Lieu did not vote for final passage of AB 144, the ban on openly carrying an unloaded handgun. He abstained.
Instead, Mr. Lieu turned his attentions to banning shark fin soup. Not to mention his ban on the use of tanning booths by persons under the age of 18.
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