California gun sales soar, bill limiting access to some firearms becomes law

From 2014 to 2018, 186 mass shootings were reported in California, according to the Center for American Progress. The same white paper details the toll, 198 people killed and 757 injuries, and even more unsettling numbers follow in the document. 

A gun homicide happened every six hours in California, on average, from 2008 to 2017. 

The United States has had 225 mass shootings thus far in 2021.

Flags pulled to half-staff to pay respect for the dead, seemingly never having a breath to return to full. The rapidity of mass shootings in early 2021 startled the general public and officials alike.

But, still, battles are had to cast down restrictions meant to stymy the startling trends, and Californians are turning out to purchase guns in record numbers. 

Nearly 1.3 million guns were bought in California last year, according to sales data from The SanFrancisco Chronicle. The estimated figure of 1.26 million guns purchased is based on FBI data on the number of background checks conducted after gun purchases. This does not account for sales made outside of stores.

UCLA law school professor Adam Winkler believes many of the purchases are from first-time buyers. Winkler is the author of the book “Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America.”

“With the pandemic and social unrest, you’re attracting more people who don’t already have a firearm but are [fearful] all of a sudden,” said Winkler.

The upsurge in gun sales comes at a time when the state government is battling to reinstate a decades-long ban on the sale of assault weapons. Attorney General Rob Bonta is currently in the process of appealing a federal judge’s ruling that the state’s regulation of assault weapons is unconstitutional. The ruling is on hold pending an appeal in the ninth circuit.

Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – La Cañada Flintridge) announced that SB 61, which prohibits anyone under 21 years of age from purchasing center-fire, semi-automatic firearms and limit all others to one purchase per month, took effect July 1, 2021.

“SB 61 is a critical public safety measure and a continuation of California’s sensible gun control efforts,” commented Senator Portantino. “It is my hope that keeping these dangerous weapons out of the wrong hands will prevent future horrendous acts of violence. Preventing gun violence has long been a priority for me and I will continue to fight for sensible gun control in our state.”

SB 61, authored by Senator Portantino, was signed into law in 2019 by Governor Newsom. The law limits the purchase of a center-fire, semi-automatic firearms to one per month. Additionally, SB 61 prohibits the sale of these high-powered weapons to anyone under 21 years of age. The measure received support from the Bay Area Student Activists, Brady California United Against Gun Violence, Coalition Against Gun Violence, Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Los Angeles City Attorney, and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

Senator Portantino has a long history of advocating for smart and sensible solutions to our nation’s tragic history of gun violence. During his time in the Assembly, the Senator successfully banned the open carry of handguns and rifles in California and as Senator, he raised the general gun purchase age in California to 21.

In 2019, Governor Newsom also signed Senator Portantino’s SB 172. The bill enacted a slate of significant provisions related to firearms storage by broadening criminal storage crimes, adding criminal storage offenses to those offenses that can trigger a 10-year firearm ban, and creating an exemption to firearm loan requirements for the purposes of preventing suicide.  The same year, SB 376 was signed into law, which reduces the number of firearms an unlicensed individual is annually able to sell and the frequency with which they are able to sell. 

California law defines an “assault weapon.” Its definition does not deal with lethality, but rather a weapon’s “features” such as a detachable magazine or a pistol grip. One that looks a lot more intimidating because of its “features,” such as the AR-15, is supposedly banned while another that fires the same .223 cartridge, such as Ruger’s Mini-14, is perfectly legal.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who personally sponsored the magazine and ammunition sales laws promised a vigorous legal fight to uphold California’s regulations.

“The recent decision is a direct threat to public safety and the lives of innocent Californians, period,” Newsom said in a statement. “As the son of a judge, I grew up with deep respect for the judicial process and the importance of a judge’s ability to make impartial fact-based rulings, but the fact that this judge compared the AR-15 — a weapon of war that’s used on the battlefield — to a Swiss Army Knife completely undermines the credibility of this decision and is a slap in the face to the families who’ve lost loved ones to this weapon. We’re not backing down from this fight, and we’ll continue pushing for common-sense gun laws that will save lives.”

Guns are the second-leading cause of death among children and teens in California, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit that advocates against gun violence. In California, an average of 240 children and teens die by guns every year, and 73% of these deaths are homicides. In the US, 58% of all gun deaths among children and teens are homicide.

Numbers will remain as a stark reminder of this state’s status as a member of the brutal, wild West. Until, of course, the state’s protections and common sense gun laws become unimpeachable.

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