Anti-Gun Bills Land on Governor’s Desk

Legislative Leopards can’t (or won’t try to) change their spots and have thus sent three anti-gun bills (SB 347/Jackson – SB 707/Wolk – AB 1134/Stone) to the desk of Governor Brown.

Two of the three demonstrate an especially juvenile perspective on how to curb crime in California – Senator Hannah Beth Jackson (SB 347), for example, thinks that anyone in possession of a single shotgun shell while on school grounds should lose their gun rights for ten years.

TEN YEARS.  Not ten days.  Not ten months – but ten years.

Did we miss the serious crime problem with a lone shotgun shell sitting at the bottom of someone’s pocket? Let’s be real – carrying ammo without a gun is like carrying a rock.  Sarcasm aside, each of the following will put a 10 year boot on the neck of your gun rights if you are:

• Picking up your child from school in the same pants/jacket you wore pheasant hunting, but you have some leftover shotgun shells in a pocket.
• The coach of the local high school trap team and some well-meaning parent brings donated ammo on campus.  Heck – you both are fried!
• A minor student – on the trap team – who may have a random cartridge or two in a backpack.
• A mom – legally permitted to carry a weapon, but with ammo in your purse.  No gun – just the ammo.

Never mind that other provisions of SB 347 are already federal crimes. It’s a page right from Tom Cruise’ “Minority Report!” Government should not be in the dangerous business of predicting that someone will commit a crime in the future so they better be punished prior to any action.

We will be making the case to Governor Brown that this bill will have no bearing on gun violence, but rather will actually criminalize those who present zero danger to the public.

As posted previously, SB 707 (Wolk) is nothing more than a problem in search of a solution, by amending the Gun-Free School Zone Act with further exceptions to the prohibition on carrying ammunition on school grounds. Even though no CCW holder has ever committed a crime on a California campus, the bill deletes the exemption that would allow anyone with a valid license to concealed carry there. 

One has to imagine what our state and country would look like if we responded to the more rational fear of being harmed by an actual criminal than being irrationally afraid of someone who respects the law.

We will press for a veto of this bill.

And finally, although less  onerous in comparison, we will also seek a veto of Assemblyman Mark Stone’s AB 1134, which will alter the authority regarding the issuance of concealed weapons permits.  This bill creates a burden for the applicant, and adds an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy to a process that has become increasingly more convoluted in recent years.

GOC will continue to work toward common sense solutions regarding the issue of crime – which can be done without sacrificing our Constitutional rights and the ability of the law abiding to protect their home and families.