Openly bearing arms, beachgoers cite their rights
Members of a South Bay group hope to win public acceptance of the public display of firearms.
By Jack Leonard, Times Staff Writer
July 11, 2010
Armed
Firefighter Scott Brownlie wears an unloaded Colt M-4 Carbine slung across his back on a Hermosa Beach street. “If a lot of people were allowed to carry more … there would be a lot less crime,” he said. (Christina House, For The Times / July 11, 2010)
It was clear this was no ordinary community cleanup.
Trash bags? Check.
Gloves? Check.
Glock .45-caliber handgun? Check.
More than a dozen people packing pistols on their hips strolled down the Hermosa Beach strand Saturday, picking up garbage and distributing fliers about the rights of gun owners.
The event was part of a burgeoning and controversial "open carry" movement nationwide promoting the right to carry guns in public. Although carrying a concealed weapon is illegal without a permit, California allows people to openly carry guns in many areas as long as they are unloaded, though they can keep ammunition with them.
Members of South Bay Open Carry, which organized the beach cleanup, said they hope such events will dispel misgivings about gun owners and make carrying a handgun in public more acceptable. Organizers said they turned the event into a cleanup to demonstrate that they are contributing to the community.
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"Just because somebody is carrying a gun doesn't mean that they're a criminal," said Scott Brownlie, a 25-year-old firefighter who stood outside Peet's Coffee & Tea with an unloaded Colt M-4 Carbine slung across his back. "If a lot of people were allowed to carry more … there would be a lot less crime."
Most people walked by the group without a second glance. A police spokesman said the department received no complaints about the event.
Open Carry has drawn criticism from gun control groups that say police, not untrained gun owners, should be protecting the public.
Similar Open Carry gatherings have taken place in recent years in San Francisco and San Diego.
A bill by Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña (D-San Diego) would, with some exceptions, prohibit civilians from openly carrying handguns. The legislation, which was approved by the Assembly but still needs to pass the Senate, has won backing from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the California Police Chiefs Assn.
Suzanne Verge, president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, described Saturday's event as a "public relations stunt."
"People use the guns in a moment of passion, under the influence, when they're angry," said Verge, whose brother was fatally shot in 1978. "I don't think it's going to lessen the risk for children and families who go to the beach."
But Ryan Burbridge and others at the Open Carry event disagreed.
Burbridge, an oil field equipment mechanic, said he carries a firearm whenever he goes shopping or visits a restaurant.
Sporting a Rock Island 1911 pistol in a holster on his right hip and a clip of ammunition on his left side, Burbridge looked toward his wife, Tiffany, and their two children, Brooke, 8, and Noah, 2.
"I would like to have the right to protect my beautiful family and not feel that people are thinking I'm breaking the law," he said. "I'm not trying to intimidate people."
Burbridge said he hoped law enforcement officers would understand that openly carrying firearms is legal. He said he was recently handcuffed and detained before being released when he was peacefully watching a July 4 fireworks show in Long Beach with his family while armed.
Harley Green, founder of South Bay Open Carry, met with Hermosa Beach's police chief last month to explain his group's plans. In response, police published a map that showed large sections of greenbelt, the beach and areas near schools where people are barred from carrying weapons without a permit, even if unloaded.
As the well-armed group spent about an hour picking up litter, the reaction from onlookers was mixed.
Ryan Rogado, a 31-year-old space engineer, stopped to watch.
"If they were handing out weapons here, I would carry one in a second," said Rogado, who owns a handgun but has never worn it in public. "I would be more intimidated by someone who pulls out a concealed weapon."
But as the gun toters wrapped up the event at Peet's, customer Shawna Johnson said the sight of someone armed in public was unnerving.
"I think people have the right to arms," said Johnson, a biology student at Cal State Channel Islands, "but I think it's unsafe that people carry them on the streets."
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4 Shot Outside Long Beach Bible College
KTLA News
9:43 AM PDT, July 11, 2010
4 Shot Outside Long Beach Bible College
4 Shot Outside Long Beach Bible College (KTLA News)
LONG BEACH -- A suspect who shot four people outside Long Beach Bible College remains at large, according to police.
The shooting happened around midnight Sunday in the 400 block of East Artesia Boulevard.
A group of people were leaving an event there when a gunman got out of a vehicle, opened fire, got back into the car and sped away.
Four people were wounded, police said.
They were taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
A description of the vehicle was not immedately available.
Police sad the shooting may have been gang related.
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Minneapolis awakens to another deadly morning
By KARE 11 Staff Writer
Updated: 7/11/2010 8:51:31 AM
Two people are dead in two separate shootings in Minneapolis overnight and the police are asking for your help.
The first call came in around 12:30 Sunday morning about a shooting inside an address on the 3800 block of Thomas Ave. N.
Police arrived to find one adult male deceased and another with a life threatening gunshot wound. He was taken to North Memorial Hospital but his condition has not been released.
Then shortly after 1:00am, police received their second call.
That shooting took place outside a bar on the 2200 block of Fourth Street where police found an adult male deceased in the street.
Police were able to take one male into custody upon arriving on the scene.
Minneapolis Police Department Homicide investigators are working on both shootings this morning
In both cases, it is unknown what happened leading up to the shootings so police need your help with any information you may have. You can contact the Homicide Unit at 612-673-2941.
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Wis. man's rifle fires, killing his 8-year-old son
By The Associated Press
Updated: 7/10/2010 7:30:45 PM
MILWAUKEE -- Police say a rifle went off as a Milwaukee man removed it from its case, causing a bullet to hit and kill his 8-year-old son, and then continue and injure the man's mother.
Police say the shooting occurred in a home Friday about 8 p.m.
They say the 26-year-old man was taking out the rifle when it fired. The bullet pierced his son's torso, then exited to hit the boy's arm and the woman's arm.
Both victims were rushed to the hospital. The boy died within a few hours. The 64-year-old grandmother suffered injuries not believed to be life-threatening.
Authorities say the man has been taken into custody.
Police didn't immediately release any names Saturday.
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