Following Advocacy from Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action Volunteers, California Legislature Advances Life-Saving Legislation 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, released the following statement after lawmakers in both chambers voted to advance common-sense gun safety legislation, including a bill to strengthen California’s gun safety laws after they were threatened by the Supreme Court’s Bruen ruling. Since introduction of the legislation, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers have visited lawmakers, testified, phonebanked, and taken digital actions in favor of these bills. The measures now await full chamber votes in the Assembly and Senate. 

“Today is a testament to the work on the ground and behind the scenes from volunteers, gun violence survivors, community partners, and gun sense lawmakers,” said Cindy Montoya, a volunteer with the California Chapter of Moms Demand Action. “We thank our gun sense champions in both chambers for their steadfast leadership and support. We look forward to working with legislative leaders and Governor Gavin Newsom to turn these bills into law, and continue fighting to eradicate gun violence in California.” 

The life-saving measures that were advanced past committee deadlines and will be considered by the full chambers are:

• SB 2 (Portantino) – legislation to update and strengthen the portions of California’s concealed carry licensing law that were weakened by the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen,  decision and to address the potential dangers posed by an increased number of people carrying concealed firearms in California, including by prohibiting guns from playgrounds, preschools, college campuses, polling places, and other sensitive locations.
• AB 28 (Gabriel) – legislation to establish the Gun Violence Prevention, Healing and Recovery Fund to provide vital resources to life-saving programs, including the California Violence Intervention and Prevention (CalVIP) grant program, supported by a modest industry tax on businesses selling firearms and ammunition.
• SB 452 (Blakespear) – legislation to create a new prohibition on selling any semiautomatic pistol unless the pistol has been verified as a “microstamping-enabled pistol.” To be “microstamping-enabled,” a pistol must have a component part that will produce a microstamp on at least one part of an expended bullet each time the pistol is fired.  

As we await further legislative action on gun violence prevention bills, Moms Demand Action and Student Demand Action Volunteers will continue to advocate for measures that make California the national leader in the fight against gun violence.

California has some of the strongest gun laws in the country and leads the nation in having the most comprehensive system for removing firearms from those who are legally prohibited from having a gun. More information about gun violence in California is available here.