Assembly Bill 424 Would Close a Dangerous Loophole That Allows School Districts to Authorize People to Bring Guns into California’s K-12 Schools
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and a member of the Everytown Survivor Network, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today applauded the Assembly Public Safety committee for passing Assembly Bill 424, legislation aimed at protecting California’s K-12 students by keeping guns out of schools.
In 2015, California recognized that civilians should not bring guns into primary and secondary schools by enacting Senate Bill 707, which prohibits a person with a concealed carry permit from carrying a firearm into a public or private K-12 school. But, there is still a loophole in the law that allows school districts to authorize people to bring a gun into a school. AB 424 would close this loophole.
STATEMENT FROM RICHARD MARTINEZ, A MEMBER OF THE EVERYTOWN SURVIVOR NETWORK AND SENIOR ASSOCIATE FOR EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY, WHOSE SON CHRISTOPHER ROSS MICHAELS-MARTINEZ WAS SHOT AND KILLED IN THE MAY 2014 SHOOTING IN ISLA VISTA:
“Since my son Chris died, I have met hundreds of families whose loved ones have been shot and killed, including at schools. The only thing that’s important to me now is the work I do to reduce gun violence, to make sure other families don’t experience this loss. As Americans and Californians, we must do everything we can to protect our children by adopting common sense measures, consistent with Second Amendment rights, to reduce gun violence. We should reject the gun lobby’s vision of America – guns everywhere, even in our children’s classrooms. I’m proud of the vote our Public Safety Committee took today and strongly urge their colleagues to vote in favor of AB 424.”
STATEMENT FROM JEN REIDY, VOLUNTEER WITH THE CALIFORNIA CHAPTER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN AMERICA:
“As parents, we want to make sure our children are safe while they are at school. Assembly Bill 424 would close a loophole that currently allows for guns in our children’s classrooms. A devastating gun tragedy in a school only takes one mistake. Teachers are trained to educate our children; they should not have to be sharp shooters as well. This is a common-sense bill introduced by gun safety champion Assemblymember McCarty, and I’m glad the Assembly’s Public Safety Committee agrees. I urge our elected officials to quickly pass AB 424 and send it to Governor Brown to sign into law.”