State Assembly Pass Five Firearm Bills

Wednesday, the State Assembly passed five anti-firearm bills in response to the tragedy that took place at UCLA. These bills ranged from banning semi-automatic weapons, (such as the AR-15) to redefining what qualifies as a firearm is to include inanimate objects that are used in the construction of a firearm.

While these bills were expected to be brought up sometime this week, the fact that the legislature decided to use the timing of the tragedy in order to promote their own political agenda, is truly appalling.

The bills are as follows:

AB 1664 (Levine & Ting): AB 1664 would extend the definition of an assault weapon to include all semi-automatic rifles and pistols with a removable magazine and that use “bullet button”. For example, an AR-15 would be included in this.

AB 1673 (Gipson): AB 1673 would take the definition of a firearm and extend to it include any unfinished frames or receivers that can be converted into a weapon. This bill could make any object that is associated with a firearm subject to the same regulations that apply to firearms. 

AB 1674  (Santiago): AB 1674 would add to the current restrictions that are placed on an individual in regards to how many firearms they can purchase in a 30 day period. Current law states that only one handgun can be purchased in this time period but if this legislation is passed, long guns would fall under this restriction as well. 

AB 1695 (Bonta): AB 1695 would require the Attorney General to send individuals a pamphlet regarding all firearm laws, how to safely store your weapon, and gun trafficking. This measure would result in wasteful government spending as criminals will not be receiving these pamphlets, only law-abiding gun owners who are already aware of this information.

AB 2607 (Ting): AB 2607 would allow an employer, coworker or mental health worker to file a restraining order on an individual to keep them from owning a gun. This individual would not be allowed to defend themselves until 21 days later. In this time, they would have their right to bear arms stripped from them, regardless if the claims were true or not..

These five bills will now move on to the Senate Public Safety Committee and if approved, will be heard on the Senate floor as early as Monday. It is imperative that you contact not only your Senator to vote against these bills but also each author to tell them to pull their awful pieces of legislation and to stop with their onslaught of attacks on law-abiding citizens.

The list of authors for each bill and their contact info can be found here. To find your Senator, you can click here.

CRPA would also like to give special recognition to Mark Hennelly of California Waterfowl, Sam Paredes of Gun Owners of California and Bill Gaines of Gaines & Associates for assisting us in this fight to preserve our right to keep and bear arms.

Remember, phone calls are still the best way to contact your elected officials because it ties up their phone lines! If you don’t get through the first time, please keep trying!

VICTORY! STATE ASSEMBLY PASSES AB 1869 & AB 1844!

This week, we saw a glimpse of common sense in the State Assembly. Two bills were passed that deal with combating crime and honoring our veterans.

AB 1869 (Melendez & Gray), would allow a special Election to coincide with the November 8, 2016 General Election that would allow voters to decide if they want to roll back a provision of Prop 47, which only requires an infraction if anything under $950 is stolen. If this bill passes the Senate and is signed by the Governor, this special election will allow voters to decide that if a firearm is stolen (regardless of value), the thief would be charged with a misdemeanor and or felony. If the voters approve this measure, the charge issued to the thief, would also apply to anyone who knowingly sold or purchased a firearm that was stolen.

AB 1844 (Gallagher) will allow for honorably discharged veterans to obtain a hunting license from the Department of Fish and Wildlife at a 25% reduced price. Veterans who put their lives in danger to preserve our freedoms will have the opportunity hunt and participate in an activity that would help them make a smoother transition into civilian life.

The State Senate will be considering the above mentioned bills. Please call your local Senator and urge them to support AB 1869 and AB 1844. To find your Senator, click here. Also, if you would like to call the authors of these bills and thank them for sponsoring common sense legislation, you can find their contact info here.