Governor signs bill making it a misdemeanor to openly carry a long rifle in unincorporated areas of a County

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 7, authored by Mike Gipson (D-Carson) that specifies that "it is a misdemeanor to openly carry a long gun in a public place in an area where discharge of a firearm is prohibited in an unincorporated area of a county."

A signing message by the Governor reads, "I am signing Assembly Bill 7 which bans the open carry of long guns in unincorporated areas where it is illegal to discharge a firearm. In effect, this bill closes a narrow loophole in California's existing open-carry prohibitions. This action does not in any way alter the dozens of current provisions of law that allow gun-owners to openly carry long guns in common everyday situations. Nor does the bill prevent local cities and counties from determining via ordinance where discharge of a firearm is permissible."

In writing its opposition to the bill, the National Rifle Association wrote the following:

"We are not aware of a person openly carrying an unloaded firearm in an unincorporated area being convicted of any crime between 2012 and now. With this being said, this is just another bill harassing law-abiding gun owners exercising their Second Amendment rights."

"It is obvious that AB 7 is not about reducing California's firearm crime rate, but is simply another attempt to further strip the law-abiding citizens of the Golden State of their Constitutional right to self-defense."