Media Advisory from the Commonwealth Club....
The Commonwealth Club....
the nation?s oldest and largest public affairs forumSPEAKERS: Chief Ken James, Police Chief Emeryville, CA Sam Paredes, Executive Director, Gun Owners of California Professor Franklin E. Zimring, William G. Simon Professor of Law and Wolfen Distinguished Scholar, UC Berkeley John Diaz, Editorial Page Editor, SF Chronicle - Moderator TITLE: Guns in Public: Exploring California?s Open Gun Carry Policy DATE: May 26th, 2010 TIME: 5:30 p.m. Reception | 6 p.m. Program PLACE: San Francisco Club Office, 595 Market Street, San Francisco PRICE: $12 for members | $20 for non- members | $7 for Students CONTACT: Riki Rafner, Public Relations Director, 415.597.6712 Nathan Reese, Public Relations Fellow, 415.597.6734
Media interested in attending should please RSVP to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by noon day of event.
ALSO KNOW: Part of the Charles Geschke Family Series on the U.S. Constitution in the 21st Century.
In much of California, it is currently legal to openly carry firearms as long as they are unloaded and visible. In the majority of states, law-abiding citizens may openly carry a loaded handgun with no license or permit required. Here in the Bay Area, in Walnut Creek and Antioch, open carry groups have been congregating at different locations to demonstrate their right to carry unloaded, unconcealed firearms in public. Opponents have come out en masse to protest. There is now even a proposed bill that would make it a misdemeanor to openly carry an unloaded handgun in specified public areas.
Emeryville Chief of Chief of Police, Ken James who performs what he calls "big city police work in an Andy of Mayberry environment," will share his take garnered from his years of law enforcement.
Sam Paredes, the Executive Director of Gun Owners of California, will tell us why this pro-gun organization is dedicated to ensuring the right of Californians to bear arms. GOC acts by influencing the legislature to oppose gun-control bills and support pro-gun legislation. Berkeley law professor Franklin E. Zimring specializes in criminal justice and family law. Zimring joined the Boalt faculty at UC Berkeley in 1985 as director of the Earl Warren Legal Institute. He was appointed the first Wolfen Distinguished Scholar in 2006. Zimring earned his B.A. from Wayne State University and his J.D. from the University of Chicago.
