Gavin Newsom signed 23 bills into law to control firearms in California. Although California already has some of the most restrictive laws on gun control, the governor signed a new series of bills into law which include increasing restrictions on carrying a concealed weapon and a new 11% tax on the sale of firearms and ammunition. The proceeds will go toward school safety programs.
LIVE NOW: Governor @GavinNewsom signs legislation to further strengthen California's gun safety laws. https://t.co/ZaDmeD04Bl
— Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) September 26, 2023
Response to a federal judge's ruling that struck down the ban on high-capacity magazines
In a statement, the Governor's Office announced that Newsom decided to sign these bills into law sooner than planned following the ruling of a district judge last Friday that struck down a ban on high-capacity magazines in the state. This sparked an angry reaction from the governor. In addition, Newsom's team stressed that this initiative was taken "in the wake of shootings across the country that have left at least 104 people dead over the past 72 hours."
BREAKING: California's high-capacity magazine ban was just STRUCK DOWN by Judge Benitez, an extremist, right-wing zealot with no regard to human life.
Wake up, America.
Our gun safety laws will continue to be thrown out by NRA-owned federal judges until we pass a Constitutional…
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 23, 2023
In the press conference, Newsom attacked Judge Benítez and pointed out that these regulations have been successful in preventing gun violence. "While radical judges continue to strip away our ability to keep people safe, California will keep fighting — because gun safety laws work. The data proves they save lives: California’s gun death rate is 43% lower than the rest of the nation. These new laws will make our communities and families safer."
Banning concealed carry in public places
The state attorney general, Rob Bonta, also participated in the event. He spoke out about carrying concealed weapons in public, as well as the prohibition of anyone carrying "dangerous weapons in sensitive places where our children gather":
Addressing gun violence is critical to protecting public safety; we cannot pretend that they are distinct problems." In California, we won’t settle for inaction when it comes to saving lives. Senate Bill 2 will help prevent violence by ensuring that dangerous individuals may not carry concealed guns in public and prohibiting the carry of dangerous weapons in sensitive places where our children gather. With this law, we are boldly advancing California’s successful, data-driven strategy to prevent gun violence and save lives. I sponsored Senate Bill 2 to provide stronger protections for our communities, and am grateful for the partnership demonstrated by author Senator Portantino and our Governor as together we enact this law to better protect California residents.
23 new laws
The statement from the Governor's Office specifies that the 23 laws signed last Tuesday included "SB 2 (Portantino) strengthening the state’s public carry regulations; SB 452 (Blakespear) requiring microstamping on handgun cartridges to help trace guns used in crimes; AB 28 (Gabriel) enacting a first-in-the-nation effort to generate $160 million annually on the sale of bullets to improve school safety and gun violence intervention programs; AB 455 (Quirk-Silva and Papan) keeping guns out of the hands of potentially dangerous individuals; AB 725 (Lowenthal) updating the definition of a firearm to include ghost gun parts; and AB 732 (Mike Fong) strengthening the process for removing firearms from people who are prohibited from owning them."
Gun safety laws work.
These new laws will:
- Generate funds on the sale of bullets for school safety and gun violence intervention programs
- Strengthen public carry regulations
- Require firearms to be microstamped
- Keep guns away from dangerous individuals pic.twitter.com/Fan5q7o9Gj— Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) September 26, 2023
Newsom signs law that toughens penalties for child trafficking
Last Monday, Newsom signed the SB14 law, which toughens penalties for trafficking minors. The governor's direct intervention in front of the Assembly was crucial in helping it move forward. One commission initially rejected it and Newsom's intervention demanding explanations and his overall interest helped move the process along.
JUST IN 🚨 @GavinNewsom SIGNS SB 14! The signing of Senate Bill 14 is a huge victory for California’s children and the survivors of sex trafficking who have long fought for justice. With the passage of this bill, we are sending a clear message to child traffickers— we intend to… pic.twitter.com/QpUiqK9Ti3
— Senator Shannon Grove (@ShannonGroveCA) September 26, 2023
