By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Boasting that “California has long led the way in enacting commonsense and effective protections against gun violence.,” and that “California’s gun safety laws save lives,” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s website announced the anti-gun Democrat has signed even more gun control laws.
The claim that “gun safety laws save lives” may not be entirely accurate, according to Statista, which shows that in 2022—the most recent year for which data is available—the Golden State racked up 2,197 homicides. However, using CDC data, the state Department of Justice’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention says the rate of homicides (due to the state’s burgeoning population) is 7th lowest in the country.
But the actual body count is still the highest.
US News is reporting that Newsom signed gun control legislation “including one that allows the court to consider stalking and animal cruelty as grounds to restrict access to firearms.”
The story quoted Newsom’s prepared statement: “California won’t wait until the next school shooting or mass shooting to act. In the absence of congressional action, our state is once again leading the way by strengthening our nation-leading gun laws.”
Other measures include one bill “strengthening safe storage requirements and creating stricter penalties for gun owners whose guns are accessed by a child, resulting in death or injury to themselves or others.”
Another bill allegedly will prevent “gun-related hate crimes.”
Bills came from both the state Assembly and state Senate, and were described as “bipartisan” in actuality that may not be so impressive. According to Guns.com, “the Democrat-dominated (Assembly 62-17, Senate 31-9) state legislature sent most of the bills to his desk only after largely partisan votes with several Dems even crossing the line to canvas with the GOP on the more controversial proposals.”
As noted by US News, “The California Legislature, which is controlled by Democrats, has advanced some of the strictest gun laws in the country, but many have not survived court challenges.”
By no small coincidence, the 39th annual Gun Rights Policy Conference is being held this weekend in San Diego at the Marriott Mission Valley hotel.
The conference, co-hosted by the Second Amendment Foundation and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, will feature nearly 40 speakers including National Review columnist John Fund, nationally-recognized author and self-defense expert Massad Ayoob, “Gun Talk” radio host Tom Gresham, and Mark Smith, host at the Four Boxes Diner podcast.
These events traditionally draw several hundred gun rights activists from across the nation.
