The Mulford Act was a 1967

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

bill that prohibited public carrying of loaded firearms without a permit. Named after

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

assemblyman Don Mulford, and signed into law by governor of California

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

, the bill was crafted with the goal of disarming members of the

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...

who were conducting armed patrols of Oakland neighborhoods, in what would later be termed

copwatching Copwatch (also Cop Watch or Cop-Watch) is a network of activist organizations, typically Autonomy, autonomous and focused in local areas, in the United States, Canada and Europe that observe and document police activity while looking for signs of ...

. They garnered national attention after

Black Panthers The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxism-Leninism, Marxist-Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. New ...

members, bearing arms, marched upon the

California State Capitol The California State Capitol is the seat of the California state government, located in Sacramento, the state capital of California. The building houses the chambers of the California State Legislature, made up of the Assembly and the Senate, al ...

to protest the bill. Assembly Bill 1591 was introduced by Don Mulford (R) from Oakland on April 5, 1967, and subsequently co-sponsored by

John T. Knox John Theryll Knox (September 30, 1924 – April 3, 2017) was an American politician and lawyer. He served in the California State Assembly for the 11th district and as Speaker Pro Tempore. He was a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat. K ...

(D) from

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, Walter J. Karabian (D) from Monterey Park, Frank Murphy Jr. (R) from Santa Cruz, Alan Sieroty (D) from Los Angeles, and

William M. Ketchum William Matthew Ketchum (September 2, 1921 – June 24, 1978) was an American businessman and Republican Party politician who was a member of the California State Assembly from 1967 to 1973 and a member of the United States House of Representa ...

(R) from Bakersfield. A.B 1591 was made an “urgency statute” under Article IV, §8(d) of the

Constitution of California The Constitution of California ( es, Constitución de California) is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of California, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of California. California's original co ...

after “an organized band of men armed with loaded firearms ..entered the Capitol” on May 2, 1967; as such, it required a 2/3 majority in each house. On June 8, before the third reading in the Assembly (controlled by Democrats, 42:38), the urgency clause was adopted, and the bill was then read and passed. It passed the Senate (split, 20:20) on July 26, 29 votes to 7, and was signed by Governor

on July 28, 1967. Both Republicans and Democrats in California supported increased gun control, as did the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

of America. Governor Ronald Reagan, who was coincidentally present on the capitol lawn when the protesters arrived, later commented that he saw "no reason why on the street today a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons" and that guns were a "ridiculous way to solve problems that have to be solved among people of good will." In a later press conference, Reagan added that the Mulford Act "would work no hardship on the honest citizen." The bill was signed by Reagan and became

California penal code The Penal Code of California forms the basis for the application of most criminal law, criminal procedure, penal institutions, and the execution of sentences, among other things, in the American state of California. It was originally enacted ...

nr.25850 and nr.171c.Penal code 171c
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See also

References

Further reading