While Coverage was Focused on the Newsom Recall Election, Here’s What Happened With Gun Safety Last Week.

With all eyes watching Governor Newsom win his recall election last week, gun safety wins flew under the radar — here’s what you need to know. As gun violence continues to devastate California communities, lawmakers at all levels of government are working hard to prioritize gun violence prevention.

Last week, on the state level, four major gun safety bills moved to Governor Newsom’s desk. These bills (listed below) will now await the governor’s signature to go into law. Governor Newsom has until October 10 to sign the bill. This session, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers focused on preventing police violence, increasing police accountability, and securing adequate funding for life-saving violence intervention programs through CalVIP. Volunteers spent hours calling, texting, emailing and tweeting about the importance of these legislative actions. 

Locally, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers worked with the Los Altos City Council which just unanimously passed a secure storage ordinance. The ordinance requires gun owners to place weapons in locked containers, disable the firearm with a trigger lock or “have the firearm in their close possession and control.” Additionally, the San Diego City Council and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors both took final votes in favor of a ghost gun ordinance last Tuesday. The ordinances will allow the cities to regulate untraceable, do-it-yourself firearms. 

Legislation on Governor Newsom’s desk:

• AB 490, legislation to expand the current chokehold ban.
• AB 1057, legislation to include ghost guns in the process of extreme risk laws.
• SB 2, legislation to increase accountability for law enforcement officers through creation of a decertification process when misconduct has occurred.
• SB 715, legislation to ensure increased police accountability.

Statistics about gun violence in California are available here, and Everytown’s Gun Law Navigator – which shows how California’s gun laws compare to those of other states – is available here. If you are interested in speaking with a California Moms Demand Action or Students Demand Action volunteer, please don’t hesitate to reach out.