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Councilman Zine Throws Support Behind 'Open Carry' Gun Ban

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — City leaders moved a step closer on Wednesday to outlawing the "open carry" of guns in public.

And as KNX 1070's Ed Mertz reports, a former Los Angeles Police Department officer is now leading the effort at City Hall.

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City Councilman Dennis Zine — a retired LAPD sergeant — says its logical to outlaw the open carrying of guns in city limits.

"If you're carrying a gun, law enforcement is trained to assume every gun is loaded," said Zine.

Under state law, residents can holster and wear the their guns in public if they are not loaded.

But citing a number of reasons why Angelenos should not do so, the City Council voted to direct the city attorney's office to draft a ban on carrying guns in public.

The ban would prohibit the carrying of an unloaded, exposed handgun in any public place or street in the
city.

(©2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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