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A CALIFORNIA BRADY VICTORY!  THANK YOU TO BRADY MEMBERS & SUPPORTERS!

https://www.bradyunited.org/press-releases/california-gov-newsom-signs-gun-safety-bills

BRADY APPLAUDS GOV. NEWSOM FOR SIGNING PACKAGE OF GUN SAFETY BILLS

Sacramento, California, October 11, 2019 — Brady and its California chapters applaud Governor Newsom for signing a comprehensive package of gun safety bills into law. Newsom held a press conference Friday, joined by Brady California Legislative Chair Amanda Wilcox, to announce the signing of laws to strengthen gun safety in the state, including measures to restrict semi-automatic rifles and ghost guns, improve the state’s Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO) law (also called extreme risk laws or "red flag laws*), and improve the implementation and enforcement of California's already strong gun laws.

Watch the Facebook Live footage of the bill signing, with words by Brady's Amanda Wilcox.

Members of Brady’s California chapters lobbied and placed more than 1,300 calls into offices to ensure the bills were signed into law. Wilcox was one of the few individuals to testify at committee hearings on SB 61, AB 1669, and many other gun violence prevention bills that Newsom signed into law.

SB 61 (Portantino) will limit the number of semi-automatic rifles that a person can purchase within a 30-day period and further restrict the sale of semi-automatic weapons to people under the age of 21. These weapons have been used in numerous mass shootings in California. AB 1669 (Bonta) will assist in covering the costs of vital measures like background checks by raising the dealer’s record of sale fee consumers pay when purchasing a firearm.

Brady California Legislative Chair Amanda Wilcox stated, “These bills strengthen California’s already strong gun laws and are evidence that California continues to invest in and protect the safety of our communities. I’m incredibly proud of our Brady California chapters and their hard work that ensured these bills were signed into law. I’m grateful that Gov. Newsom has been such a strong ally of the gun violence prevention movement, understands the importance of keeping guns out of the wrong hands, and has taken action to show his commitment.”

President of Brady California Mattie Scott added, “Since the beginning of this year’s legislative session, California has suffered numerous high-profile massacres, including those at the Garlic Festival in Gilroy and at the Chabad of Poway synagogue. In just these two shootings, four people were killed, and 20 lives were changed forever. This doesn’t even include the daily gun violence in California that kills 3,000 Californians each year. Despite the fact that California has some of the strongest gun laws in the country, and has seen a decline in gun deaths four times greater than the rest of the nation, there is still more we can do. Brady is proud to stand with the Governor today as he signs these critical bills into law.”

In addition to SB 61 and AB 1669, Brady supports a range of gun violence prevention bills that the Governor signed, including:

AB 879 (Gipson) — Requires parts needed to assemble or manufacture a gun to be purchased from a licensed firearm precursor part vendor and includes an instant background check and record. This bill works to prevent the creation of ghost guns or 3D guns by prohibited purchasers.

AB 339 (Irwin) — Requires local law enforcement agencies to establish policies and standards for implementing the state’s gun violence restraining order (GVRO).

AB 521 (Berman) — Establishes a program to train physicians how to talk about gun safety with their patients.

AB 61 (Ting) — Expands GVRO petitioners to include school employees, employers, and work colleagues.

AB 1493 (Ting) — Allows the subject of a GVRO petition to submit a form to the court voluntarily relinquishing their firearm rights and stating that the subject is not contesting the petition.

AB 1297 (McCarty) — Requires the issuing authority (i.e. sheriff) to charge a fee sufficient to cover the cost of issuing and enforcing a concealed-carry permit.

AB 1603 (Wicks) — Codifies the establishment of the California Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program.

AB 164 (Cervantes) — Prevents individuals who are subject to out-of-state restraining or protective orders from purchasing or possessing a firearm in California.

SB 376 (Portantino) — Brings the sale, lease, or transfer of long guns in line with California’s regulations exempting infrequent transfers of handguns from the requirement to be a licensed dealer, and requires anyone manufacturing 50 or more firearms per year to be licensed as a manufacturer.

AB 645 (Irwin) — Requires that the warnings on packaging of firearms sold or transferred in California by a licensed dealer to include the national suicide prevention lifeline phone number. It also requires that this specified statement be included in the warnings provided to a person taking the firearm safety certificate test.

*Brady encourages media and others not to use the term “Red Flag Law.” While the term has grown in popularity as an easy reference to a complex policy, the term further stigmatizes those living with mental illness and misrepresents the purpose of the law by reinforcing existing prejudices and stereotypes.


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Brady has one powerful mission — to unite all Americans against gun violence. We work across Congress, the courts, and our communities with over 90 grassroots chapters, bringing together young and old, red and blue, and every shade of color to find common ground in common sense. In the spirit of our namesakes Jim and Sarah Brady, we have fought for over 45 years to take action, not sides, and we will not stop until this epidemic ends. It’s in our hands.


Amanda Wilcox
Legislation & Policy Chair
California Chapters
Brady United Against Gun Violence