As gun violence continues to devastate California communities, lawmakers at all levels of government continue to prioritize gun violence prevention. Though California has strong gun safety laws, there is more work that must be done to protect Californians from gun violence. In the last few weeks, officials at the local and state level took up that challenge, passing several major gun safety actions.
On the state level, the state legislature passed four major gun safety bills through the second chamber. These bills (listed below) will now await the governor’s signature to go into law.
And locally, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers have supported ordinances moving forward in San Francisco and Los Angeles to regulate ghost guns in the cities. Ghost guns are untraceable, do-it-yourself firearms available without a background check, and the fastest-growing gun safety problem our nation has seen in years.
At the same time, Moms Demand Action volunteers have continued to show their support for gun sense champion, Governor Gavin Newsom. So far, volunteers have spent over 240 hours calling more than 12,600 people to remind them to vote in tomorrow’s election. In a blog from gun violence survivor, Cindy Montoya, she writes [emphasis added]:
“Unfortunately, so many people have stories of gun violence like my own….But we have seen progress. Now, survivors have a Governor who not only supports and listens to them, but also consistently takes action to end gun violence. Without the tireless work of Governor Newsom and his team, California would not have one of the lowest rates of gun violence in the country. But, the work isn’t done yet. We need Governor Newsom in office to prevent gun violence in our state—that’s why I’m voting NO on the recall election.
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We will not find a stronger gun safety advocate than Governor Newsom. Every time our Governor shows up for gun safety, he lets survivors know that he sees us. Every time he signs a gun safety bill, our state becomes one step closer to ending gun violence—so no family has to go through what my family went through.”
Legislation to on Governor Newsom’s desk:
- AB 490, legislation to expand the current chokehold ban, passed the Assembly floor and now moves to the Senate.
- AB 1057, legislation to include ghost guns in the process of extreme risk laws. The bill passed the assembly floor and now moves to the Senate.
- SB 2, legislation to increase accountability for law enforcement officers through creation of a decertification process when misconduct has occurred, passed the Senate floor and now moves to the Assembly.
- SB 715, ensuring increased police accountability.
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 volunteer, please don’t hesitate to reach out.