15 new ways to keep Californians un-shot
I am not in the pocket of John Law. I believe there should be fewer laws. I hate calling electeds “lawmakers.” I wish they would go to Sacramento and come back home showing us the laws they got rid of, not the ones they wrote. There ought not to be a law.
At the very least, for every law passed, eliminate a needless one, so we just stay even.
That said, I will be happy, now that Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed 15 excellent new gun-safety laws all at once, to quickly find 15 old state laws to eliminate. I can do it while I eat my egg salad sandwich here at lunch, if anyone asks. But since they haven’t, I will simply celebrate the legislation and legislators who just made California a state in which we are less likely to be butchered by bullets:
• AB12 by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, extends the duration of a gun violence restraining order to a maximum of five years. Why not? Prove you’ve no violent intent, and you’re good.
• AB61 by Assemblymember Philip Ting, D-San Francisco, allows a coworker or teacher to file a petition requesting a gun violence restraining order. Why leave it to shrinks and spouses? They’re not the only ones who can see a guy is nuts,
• AB164 by Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside, holds people subject to a valid restraining order from out of state to the same restrictions on buying or possessing guns in California. Of course — state lines are really easy to cross.
• AB339, also by Irwin, requires local cops to develop written policies and standards regarding the use of gun violence restraining orders, because otherwise they are ignored.
• AB1493, also by Ting, authorizes a person who is the subject of a gun violence restraining order to petition to submit a form to the court voluntarily relinquishing their firearm rights. Self-report!
• SB61 by Sen. Anthony Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge, bans the sale of a semiautomatic centerfire rifle to any person under 21 years of age, and applications to purchase more than one semiautomatic centerfire rifle in any 30-day period, with a few exceptions. To my own senator, I say, Thanks for this sensible age update and rapid arsenal-acquiring prevention.
• SB376, also by Portantino, prevents Californians from selling large numbers of firearms without a license by capping the number of annual sales at five transactions or 50 firearms. What are you — a gun store? Get a hobby less likely to kill somebody.
• AB645, also by Irwin, requires packaging for firearms to contain a warning statement on suicide prevention. Absolutely: 60 percent of U.S. gun deaths are suicides.
• AB879 by Assemblymember Mike Gipson, D-Carson, requires that the sale of firearms “precursor parts” be conducted through a licensed vendor.
• AB1669 by Assemblymember Rob Bonta, D-Alameda, updates existing law by applying the same gun show regulations that already apply to firearms dealers to ammunition vendors, and ensures that sufficient funding is available for firearm regulatory efforts. Guns don’t kill people — bullets do.
• AB1297 by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, requires local authorities giving concealed gun licenses to charge an applicant a fee sufficient to cover the reasonable costs of processing, issuing and enforcement of the license, and eliminates the existing $100 limit on processing fees for concealed firearm licenses. Pay the real cost, you holstered hombres.
• AB893 by Assemblymember Todd Gloria, D-San Diego, bans selling guns and bullets at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Why not just have a safe day at the races?
Larry Wilson is a member of the Southern California News Group editorial board. lwilson@scng.com.
