Legislative Update 5/25/18:

Today’s legislative blowouts, courtesy of both the Assembly and Senate Appropriations committees, yielded a mixed bag for Second Amendment and hunting supporters.

On the Assembly side, today’s committee meeting saw the demise of AB 2670 (Kiley, R), which would have required the Department of Fish and Wildlife to implement two free hunting days a year, and AB 2067 (Gallagher, R), which would have required armed school resource officers at every k-12 public and charter school in the state.

While our legislators claim to support school safety and common-sense hunting practices, their actions show that this is nothing more than lip service! Hunting in California is in a steep decline, and without hunters, the state will be unable to fund vital land management and conservation programs; as such, revitalizing the next generation of hunters is of the utmost importance! By voting down free hunting days, this committee has made a misguided and uninformed choice to harm our state’s unique ecosystem by leaving the price barrier to hunt in place.

In recent weeks, we have seen our legislators cry out against the danger our children face in schools. They call for change, yet as today’s vote shows, they are incapable of action. AB 2067 would have helped make our schools harder targets by requiring armed resource officers on campus at all times. This would have made a meaningful step towards keeping our children safe in school. However, instead of voting to protect the lives of our state’s youth, they chose to do nothing. Keep in mind, these are the same people who hypocritically claim groups like CRPA and law-abiding gun owners are responsible for school shootings!

Unfortunately, the committee also passed AB 2382 (Gipson, D), which aims to apply the ludicrous new ammunition restrictions to firearms precursor parts, such as triggers, barrels, and more.

This nasty piece of legislation is now headed to the Assembly floor, you can take action today by contacting your Assembly Member and urging them to vote NO on AB 2382.

On the Senate side, SB 1100 (Portantino, D), sadly passed out of committee as well. This bill aims to strip the constitutional rights of young adults in California by raising the age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21; even worse, SB 1100 also aims to restrict the purchase of long guns to one per month. SB 1100 is now headed to the Senate floor and we need your help to stop it. Contact your State Senator today and urge them to vote NO on SB 1100.

Despite these setbacks, today’s committee meetings also yielded positive results! Both AB 2805 and AB 2697 passed out of committee! AB 2805 (Bigelow, R) will streamline the process for obtaining a license to hunt invasive wild pigs and will make it easier to stop them from destroying property and the environment. AB 2697 (Gallagher, R), provides incentives to preserve land for waterfowl habitat; this is a major windfall for all California hunters!

With your help, we can ensure that these pro-hunting bills become law! Call your Assembly Member today and urge them to vote YES on AB 2805 and AB 2697!