This Session, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action Volunteers Rallied in Sacramento and Sent Over 18,000, Messages in Support of Gun Safety Legislation
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, issued the following statements after lawmakers passed various pieces of gun safety legislation. From efforts to curb hate crimes to strengthening secure storage standards, the measures all head to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk. The governor has until September 30, 2024 to sign the measures into law.
“From leading the nation in banning assault weapons to creating funding to target the root causes of gun violence, it’s clear that our approach to tackling this crisis has evolved. Now, California is positioned to hold the gun industry accountable and go deeper into addressing the ways gun violence ripples through our communities,” said Cassandra Whetstone, a volunteer with the California chapter of Moms Demand Action. “By passing these measures, lawmakers are making it clear: California stands for gun safety. We thank our gun sense champions for their life-saving work this session and urge Governor Gavin Newson to swiftly sign these bills that will protect all Californians.”
“We had one goal at the beginning of this session: Strengthen California’s gun safety laws. I think it’s fair to say that’s exactly what we’ve accomplished today,” said Ireana Williams, a volunteer leader with Sacramento State University Students Demand Action chapter. “California is proof that there’s always more work to be done in the fight to end gun violence. Young people have grown up in this violent crisis, learning to dodge bullets before tying their shoes, and we’ll stop at nothing to ensure the next generation doesn’t suffer our same reality.”
Here’s a snapshot of the gun safety bills passed at the end of session:
Protecting Democracy and Disarming Hate:
- Hate-Based Gun Violence Prevention Act (AB 2917, Asm. Zbur): First in the nation legislation to specifically identify precursors to hate crimes and armed extremism as factors judges should consider in deciding whether to issue a Gun Violence Restraining Order, including threats of violence against a person or group based on their race or ethnicity, nationality, religion, disability, gender, or sexual orientation and threats of violence intended to achieve political objectives. These clarifications will help ensure this life-saving tool is used to remove firearms before clear threats turn into tragedy.
- Hate Crimes Reduction and Community Safety Act (AB 2621, Asm. Gabriel): First in the nation legislation to include mandatory instruction about Gun Violence Restraining Orders as part of law enforcement hate crimes training and to update the requirements for written local law enforcement policies on GVROs to incorporate best practices for effective implementation of the law.
- The PEACE Act (AB 2642, Asm. Berman): Urgency legislation to create a pathway for voters and election officials to enforce important prohibitions on election intimidation in state civil court, including a presumption that openly carrying a gun around a voting site is illegal intimidation. This bill specifically addresses the role guns play in threatening and destabilizing democratic processes, and would become effective immediately upon signature to ensure protections are in place for the November 2024 election.
Addressing Mental Health Impacts of Gun Violence:
- AB 1858 (Asm. Ward): legislation to require schools conducting active shooter drills to utilize a trauma-informed approach, including age-appropriate and developmentally-appropriate content, advance notification of drills, prohibitions on high-intensity drills with simulations, the ability for parents to opt children out of drills, and contact information for mental health resources.
Promoting Responsible Gun Ownership:
- SB 53 (Sen. Portantino): legislation to extend California’s secure storage law to all households, creating the strongest secure storage standards in the country to protect against unauthorized access and theft by requiring all firearm owners to use firearm safety devices that have passed CalDOJ’s rigorous testing or gun safes that meet specific requirements.
Addressing Irresponsible Gun Industry Practices:
- SB 965 (Sen. Min): legislation that builds on CalDOJ’s nation-leading annual crime guns report to require specific reporting of firearms dealer inspections conducted each year and any violations of important gun safety laws discovered during those inspections.
- AB 1252 (Asm. Wicks): legislation to enshrine the Office of Gun Violence Prevention (OGVP) in statute, ensuring its critical work extends beyond any single administration and empowering the Office to publish a groundbreaking report about any gaps in firearm tracing systems, policy options to curb or eliminate irresponsible firearm industry practices, and recommendations to improve implementation of gun safety laws.
Keeping Guns Out of the Hands of People Posing a Serious Risk to Public Safety:
- SB 899 (Sens. Blakespear and Skinner): legislation to establish uniform procedures to ensure people promptly turn in their guns after a court issues a restraining order prohibiting them from having firearms.
- SB 902 (Sen. Roth): legislation to prohibit firearm access for ten years from anyone who has been convicted of an animal cruelty misdemeanor.
Blocking Illegal Gun Access:
- SB 1019 (Sen. Blakespear): legislation to strengthen state law to make sure that crime guns are fully destroyed and that law enforcement agencies are transparent about the terms of any contracts with outside agencies to store or destroy firearms.
- AB 2842 (Asm. Papan): legislation to require law enforcement agencies that contract with third parties for the destruction of firearms to ensure that such contracts prohibit the sale of those firearms, or any parts or attachments to the firearms.
California has the strongest gun laws in the country—along with some of the lowest rates of gun deaths and gun ownership. In 2023, the state strengthened its laws surrounding the public carry of firearms, developed a sustainable source of funding for community violence intervention programs and other gun violence prevention programs through a firearm and ammunition tax, updated its first-in-the-nation microstamping law, and continued strengthening its industry accountability laws and illegal gun removal programs.
Statistics about gun violence in California are available here, and Everytown’s Gun Law Navigator – which shows how California’s gun laws compare to those of other states – is available here.
If you are interested in speaking with a California Moms Demand Action or Students Demand Action policy expert or volunteer, please contact [email protected].