02.28
Yes it was said when I first started carrying in the Bay Area “Oh sure, in Sunnyvale but don’t even think of taking that to San Francisco!” Well with the help of a new law permitting firearms back in National Parks, the very first large gathering of open carriers took place in San Francisco at the Presidio today. Aside from one hoplophobe (by his own admission) that I believe was an interested Brady Campaigner taking lots of video and photos of us, the trash pick up outing went off without a hitch. Park Rangers (not sure if that’s their title) stopped by to invoke PC12031(e) and check the loaded condition of the firearms onsite. There is still debate about the legality of a Federal Officer acting as state “peace officer”. It’s my understanding after reading the law that these officers are not “peace officers” as defined in California Penal Code 830 through 831.7. None of us were willing to go to jail to prove our point today so ‘e’ checks were done professionally and cordially without lecture from the officers. A few bloggers and newspapers braved the threat of tsunami to cover this event, here’s to hoping the coverage is balanced.
More photos after the break.
More Photos:
I asked what they were when they approached our group, and they identified themselves as park police. If they truly do have their permission slip from the SF police chief or the SF sheriff, then they are legal.
Seed me a e-mail when you have the next one I would like to attend if I can
Thanks Jared
By the way, the guy videotaping and who claimed to be videotaping nude people and was afraid of guns? He was a plainclothes Park Police officer filming the whole thing. Ken Rawles is his name.
i would like to attend the next open carry please contact me
Check out opencarry.org or http://www.meetup.com/bayareaopencarry for the latest open carry gatherings or meetups. Plenty of stuff going on in the Redwood City area.