(DCWatchdog.com) – California’s 2A advocates are outraged as Governor Gavin Newsom dropped a bombshell when he signed a whopping 24 new gun-control bills into law.
This bill is aimed at tightening penalties for gun owners whose firearms fall into the hands of minors, expanding the state’s red-flag laws.
It will also allow police to temporarily seize weapons from people considered dangerous.
California already had some of the strictest gun laws in the country, but the legislative package added 24 more bills, while gun rights advocates opposed parts of the new measures.
Moreover, the new laws include tougher storage rules for gun owners to keep firearms out of reach of children, detailed school safety plans for active shooter situations, and steps to curb gun-related hate crimes.
Some bills focus on domestic violence victims, which allows courts to remove firearms from people involved in stalking or animal cruelty while also banning anyone deemed mentally ill from having ammunition if they are already barred from owning guns.
One of the laws targets “ghost guns”—untraceable homemade guns without serial numbers. These firearms must be completely destroyed if marked for disposal through methods like smelting or shredding.
“California won’t wait until the next school shooting or mass shooting to act,” Newsom said in a statement. “In the absence of congressional action, our state is once again leading the way by strengthening our nation-leading gun laws.”
Since taking office in 2019, Newsom has focused heavily on reducing gun violence in the state.
Last year, he signed laws that restrict carrying firearms in most public places and doubled taxes on guns and ammo to fund school safety.
He also started a push for a constitutional amendment to enforce gun restrictions nationwide, but it hasn’t gained much support.
Still, Newsom called the recent gun-control bills a “bipartisan” effort, though Democrats still dominate both houses of the state legislature.
“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,” Newsom added.
According to the CDC and California’s Office of Gun Violence and Prevention, the state’s gun death rate was 43% lower than the national average in 2022, and its gun homicide rate was 33%.
That same year, California’s youth gun homicide rate was 50% percent lower than in 2006, while Florida and Texas saw their youth homicide rates increase by 24 and 49%, respectively.
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