UPDATE: Lawmakers reject open-carry gun ban

UPDATE Wednesday:

The Associate Press reports that California lawmakers have rejected a bill that would have made it illegal to carry unloaded guns in public.

The Senate narrowly approved the measure Tuesday, the last day of the regular legislative session, on a 21-16 vote. But it failed in the Assembly.

The bill would have made it a misdemeanor to openly carry a handgun in a public place. Current California law permits carrying a rifle or a handgun in a holster if it is not loaded.

The State Senate will reconsider a bill that would make it illegal to carry unloaded guns in public, including for the 100 people who demonstrated the legal right to openly bear arms at Walnut Creek's Buckhorn Grill last February.  

The Associated Press reports Monday's 20-16 vote fell short of the majority needed to make the ban law. But lawmakers will take another vote Tuesday. 

Assembly Bill 1994 was introduced after a series of demonstrations by gun-rights organizations during which they encouraged participants to openly carry unloaded weapons. People do have the legal right to do so in California; state law lets gun owners carry a rifle or handgun in a holster if it is not loaded. State Sen. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) is carrying the bill in the Senate. 

The legislation would make it a misdemeanor to openly carry a handgun in any public place.

DeSaulnier told the Associated Press that people often call police when they see guns in public, not knowing whether they are loaded or not.

Last February, up to 100 members of Bay Area Open Carry, wearing unloaded guns and ammunition clips strapped to their belts, turned up at Buckhorn Grill in Plaza Escuela. 

"It's time for citizens to arm up," Gus Konstantaras, 50, of Antioch, said in February. He explained  he was a former military police officer and former officer for the police department in Pittsburg and a department in Louisiana. "It's a right. If you don't exercise it, you will lose it." 

Open Carry supporters also said they believe displaying their guns in public deters crime. They said they worried about how the state's budget crisis and the bad economy is causing cuts to local police departments. 

Although the demonstration was peaceful, Buckhorn Grill later regretted its decision to give permission for this meetup of the loosely organized group of gun advocates. While Walnut Creek police were involved to make sure the weapons were not loaded, "it still caused tension with the large mob of people arriving as a group instead of individually," Buckhorn management said. The Open Carry luncheon also went on much longer than planned and the restaurant had to turn away other customers.