Could tactics used by the "open carry" movement backfire?

Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña, D-San Diego, and allies of legislation she introduced Wednesday to ban the public display of unloaded weapons believe so.

State law permitting Californians to display their empty-chamber firearms has been on the books since about 1968, drawing little attention.

But a surge in demonstrations of people exercising that right in the San Diego region and nationally has attracted scrutiny.

"It wasn't a problem we had to deal with. As it's become more prevalent over the last two years, we've had to deal with it," said Emeryville Police Chief Ken James, whose statewide law enforcement organization supports the measure. "If we hadn't had a lot of these open-carry events, police chiefs probably wouldn't be involved in it," he added.

Saldaña cited an open-carry event in Pacific Beach last year as alerting her to the need for a ban on displaying guns, even unloaded, in public. There, with thousands of people at the beach on a Saturday, about 60 members of the movement walked along the boardwalk.

Open-carry advocates say they are acting out of frustration over what they see as government's infringement on their Second Amendment rights. They also are protesting limits on concealed-weapon permits.

"The Second Amendment provides the right to bear arms, not just in the home," said Sam Paredes, executive director of Gun Owners of California. "They're using the First Amendment to make a statement about the Second Amendment."

Among the most celebrated instances nationally have been at various Starbucks Coffee locations and in Phoenix, where about a dozen activists legally brandished weapons near an event attended by President Barack Obama.

"Guns are an intimidating presence," Saldaña said. "The average citizen can't tell the good guys from the bad guys."

Lawmakers have attempted to change the law several times, but not since 2005, according to Saldaña.

"We're seeing more instances of open carry. Circumstances have changed," she said.

Saldaña's measure, Assembly Bill 1934, would not change existing law that allows citizens to carry concealed weapons with permits. Businesses on private property would still be free to implement their own open-carry policies.

Gerald Reaster, a retired Navy officer and organizer of an Escondido open-carry group, called the public displays "a form of grass-roots political protest."

Members go to public places to assert their rights and educate people, he said.

There have been events in shopping malls, at restaurants and at Escondido's popular Cruisin' Grand hot-rod event on Friday nights. Members meet beforehand for a safety briefing and to ensure the guns are unloaded, Reaster said.

"We are not doing this to intimidate people," he said.

But there have been reports of business patrons fleeing stores and complaining that the demonstrations frighten them and their children.

Victor Torres, a member of the North County minority rights organization El Grupo, is alarmed because he associates the open-carry movement with the Minutemen, which has crusaded against illegal immigration.

"I don't see what the purpose is other than trying to intimidate people," Torres said, endorsing the legislation.

Saldaña promotes the bill as a public safety measure, noting that when police are called to reports of guns they do not know whether it's a protest or an actual public threat.

Said Emeryville Chief James, "We view open carry as an officer safety issue. Officers are taught from Day One at the academy that guns are a threat. ... We teach tactically how to respond to that threat."

With Saldaña's bill in place, "they will not have to worry about whether their safety is going to be in peril by somebody openly carrying a firearm," James said.

Paredes dismissed the support of the California Police Chiefs Association, saying members must answer to big-city councils that are usually pro-gun control.

Supporters of the bill concede that they know of no incidences of violence related to open-carry events.

Even though California law bars citizens from displaying loaded guns, ammunition can be on one hip while an unloaded pistol is holstered on the other leg, Saldaña said. She displayed a video showing a person slipping a magazine into a gun within two seconds.

The bill will get its first test Monday in the Assembly Public Safety Committee.

Its fate appears murky. Gun control, even in California, has always been a tough sell in the Legislature. Its chances are further complicated by upcoming elections and the influence of the conservative tea party movement.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has not taken a position.