California has some of the strictest gun control laws in the USA – it started with the Black Panthers

The Black Panthers’ Armed Capitol Invasion of 1967

On May 2, 1967, thirty armed Black Panthers walked right into the California State Capitol. They came to fight the Mulford Act, a bill aimed at stopping their armed patrols in Oakland.

At that time, carrying guns in public was still legal in California. The Panthers, led by Bobby Seale, sent Governor Reagan and his guests running for cover.

Though they couldn’t enter the Assembly chamber, they read their statement on the lawn instead. Soon after, six Panthers went to jail, and the Mulford Act passed with ease.

The Capitol building still stands in Sacramento today, where this bold protest changed both gun laws and civil rights forever.

Two Friends Started a Revolution in Oakland

Huey Newton and Bobby Seale formed the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in Oakland in October 1966.

They started with fewer than 100 members who patrolled Black neighborhoods carrying loaded guns to watch police behavior.

Newton studied California gun laws and learned they could legally carry loaded firearms openly without pointing them at anyone. Their first member was 16-year-old Bobby Hutton, who became treasurer.

They wore black berets, black leather jackets, black pants, and blue shirts like Che Guevara.

Armed Panthers Followed Police Through Oakland Streets

Panthers ran “copwatching” patrols, following police cars through Oakland’s Black neighborhoods with loaded shotguns and rifles in plain sight.

When police stopped locals, Panthers stood nearby quoting California law and yelling legal advice to people being stopped.

Local cops and politicians got frustrated because they couldn’t stop these armed patrols since the Panthers followed the law.

Newton and Seale paid for weapons by buying Mao’s Little Red Book and selling it to Berkeley students at triple the price.

A Republican Lawmaker Took Aim at the Panthers

Republican Assemblyman Don Mulford from Oakland introduced Bill 1591 on April 5, 1967, to ban carrying loaded guns in public without a permit.

Mulford appeared on a radio show where Newton was a guest and told him straight up that the bill would “get” the Black Panthers.

The law targeted the Panthers to stop their police patrols, though Mulford publicly claimed it wasn’t about race. Both Democrats and Republicans backed the bill, along with the National Rifle Association.

Thirty Armed Panthers Headed to Sacramento

Newton and Eldridge Cleaver planned to protest the Mulford Act by sending armed Panthers to the California State Capitol.

They picked 30 Panthers, 24 men and 6 women, led by Bobby Seale to make the 90-mile trip from Oakland to Sacramento on May 2, 1967. The group carried loaded .357 Magnums, . 45 pistols, shotguns, and rifles, all legal under California law at that time.

Seale wrote a statement calling out the racist bill meant to keep Black people “disarmed and powerless.

Ronald Reagan Ran Inside When He Saw the Panthers Coming

On May 2, 1967, the 30 armed Black Panthers walked through the Capitol’s front doors with gun barrels pointed at the ceiling.

The Capitol had no security checkpoints or metal detectors back then, so visitors walked in freely. Governor Ronald Reagan stood on the Capitol lawn with eighth-graders when the armed Panthers approached.

Security rushed Reagan inside as the Panthers marched up the Capitol steps. Journalists and TV crews followed them into the building, filming everything.

Lawmakers Ducked Under Their Desks

Six Panthers accidentally walked into the Assembly chamber while the others waited in the hallways. Some lawmakers dove under their desks when they saw the armed group enter during the session.

Guards stopped the Panthers from reading their statement inside the Assembly. Police ordered the Panthers to leave the chamber after their brief entrance.

The person running the meeting first only noticed the reporters and camera crews, telling them angrily to get out before seeing the armed Panthers behind them.

Bobby Seale Read Their Message on the Capitol Lawn

Outside on the Capitol front lawn, Bobby Seale read their statement several times for cameras and reporters.

Seale said “The American people in general and the Black people in particular” needed to see how the racist California legislature tried to keep Black people “disarmed and powerless.”

The statement highlighted the constitutional right to bear arms and why Black people needed to arm themselves. TV stations broadcast Seale’s message across California and the nation.

Police Arrested Panthers as They Left the Building

Police arrested Bobby Seale and five other Panthers as they left the Capitol building.

Twenty-six Panthers in total were detained and charged with various offenses including disturbing the peace and even odd fish and game law violations.

The group pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of disrupting a legislative session. Seale and five others got six-month prison sentences.

Police released the remaining Panthers after processing.

The Mulford Act Passed Faster After the Protest

The Capitol demonstration sped up the passage of the Mulford Act rather than stopping it. Mulford added an amendment making it a felony to bring loaded firearms into the Capitol building itself.

The bill passed the Assembly on June 8 with a vote of 70 to 5, and the Senate on July 26 with 29 to 7.

Governor Reagan signed the Mulford Act into law on July 28, 1967, making it illegal to carry loaded firearms in public without a permit.

Reagan stated he saw “no reason why on the street today a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons” and called guns a “ridiculous way to solve problems.”

News Cameras Turned a Local Group Into a National Movement

The armed Capitol occupation became international news, with headlines appearing in newspapers worldwide including London’s Guardian. At the time of the protest, the Party had fewer than 100 members total.

The dramatic images of armed Black Panthers in the Capitol transformed the group from a local Oakland organization into a national movement.

Membership grew rapidly throughout 1967 and 1968, eventually setting up chapters in 48 states. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover started COINTELPRO operations in August 1967, labeling the Panthers a “black nationalist, hate-type organization” to be neutralized.

California’s First Major Gun Law Still Stands Today

The Mulford Act became California’s first major gun control legislation and remains in effect today as Penal Code sections 25850 and 171c.

The 1967 law put California on the path to having some of the strictest gun control laws in America. The legislation helped kick off a wave of gun control restrictions at both state and national levels.

The NRA’s support for the Mulford Act marked the only time the organization backed restrictions specifically targeting public gun carrying.

The Panthers’ demonstration accidentally showed that Second Amendment rights could be limited when exercised by armed Black activists, revealing racial double standards in gun policy debates.

Visiting California State Capitol, California

The California State Capitol at 1315 10th Street in Sacramento offers free admission and hourly guided tours weekdays from 10am to 4pm.

Sign up at the first floor Rotunda Information Desk for tours limited to 20 people on a first-come basis. You’ll go through metal detectors since firearms are prohibited inside.

This is where the Black Panthers made their historic 1967 armed protest against the Mulford Act, leading to California’s first major gun control law.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• The Ahwahnee in Yosemite: where concrete masquerades as redwood in plain sight
• How Gold Rush settlers stayed alive using salt from this antique San Francisco schooner
• César Chávez’s 36-day water fast that exposed California’s toxic fields