Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bipartisan legislative package aimed at strengthening California’s gun laws to prevent mass violence and domestic violence. The new laws build on existing strategies and introduce measures to further protect the state’s residents.
“California won’t wait until the next school shooting or mass shooting to act. In the absence of congressional action, our state is once again leading the way by strengthening our nation-leading gun laws. Data shows that California’s gun safety laws are effective in preventing gun-related deaths — which makes the ongoing inaction and obstruction by politicians in the pocket of the gun lobby even more reprehensible,” Governor Newsom stated.
The newly signed legislation includes several key provisions:
– Strengthening safe storage requirements for firearms and imposing stricter penalties for gun owners whose weapons are accessed by children, resulting in injury or death.
– Enhancing measures to protect students during active threats.
– Expanding training for law enforcement officers and courts to identify extremism and potential hate-based crimes, thereby improving the use of restraining orders.
– Providing additional tools for child custody caseworkers and law enforcement officers to determine if abusers have access to guns.
– Restricting firearm possession by animal abusers and those found incompetent to stand trial.
– Improving information-sharing among California courts to ensure individuals deemed a threat no longer have access to firearms.
California has long been recognized for its stringent gun laws, which have significantly reduced gun violence in the state. Statistics show that California’s gun death rate is 43% lower than the national average. The state ranks first in gun safety, with a notably lower firearm mortality rate compared to states like Texas and Florida.
Preliminary data from the CDC indicates that in 2022, California’s age-adjusted per capita firearm homicide rate for youth under 25 was 45% below the national rate. This contrasts with a 37% increase in youth gun homicide rates across the rest of the U.S. during the same period.
The following bills were among those signed into law:
– AB 960 (Assemblymember Devon Mathis) – School safety: web-based or app-based school safety programs
– AB 1252 (Assemblymember Buffy Wicks) – Office of Gun Violence Prevention
– AB 1858 (Assemblymember Christopher Ward) – Comprehensive school safety plans: active shooters: armed assailants: drills
– AB 1974 (Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris) – Family conciliation courts: evaluator training
– AB 2565 (Assemblymember Kevin McCarty) – School facilities: interior locks
– AB 2621 (Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel) – Law enforcement training
– AB 2629 (Assemblymember Matt Haney) – Firearms: prohibited persons
– AB 2642 (Assemblymember Marc Berman) – Elections: intimidation
– AB 2739 (Assemblymember Brian Maienschein) – Firearms
– AB 2759 (Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris)
– AB 2822 (Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel) – Domestic violence
– AB 2842 (Assemblymember Diane Papan) – Firearms
– AB 2907 (Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur) – Firearms: restrained persons
– AB 2917 (Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur) – Firearms: restraining orders
– AB 3064 (Assemblymember Brian Maienschein) – Firearms
– AB 3072 (Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris) — Child custody: ex parte orders
– AB 3083 (Assemblymember Tom Lackey)— Domestic violence: protective orders: background checks
Additional Senate Bills included:
-SB 53 by Senator Anthony Portantino – Firearms storage
-SB758 by Senator Thomas Umberg – Firearms
-SB899 by Senator Nancy Skinner – Protective orders
-SB902 by Senator Richard D Roth – Public Safety
-SB965 by Senator Dave Min – Firearm regulations
-SB1002 & SB1019 both authored by Catherine Blakespear – Restricted firearms destruction
These measures reflect California’s continued commitment to reducing gun violence through comprehensive legislative action.
