By Amee Smart-
Gun law policies in California are to be changed in light of the on going mass shootings crisis that has plagued the U.S.
Under the new laws, gun makers and dealers in California will be required to block firearms sales to anyone they have “reasonable cause to believe is at substantial risk” of using a gun illegally or of
harming themselves or others.
Less than a month after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against restrictions on carrying firearms in public in a substantial victory for 2nd Amendment advocates, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed at least three major gun control measures into law, designed to restrict access to guns, and pave the way for private citizens to sue the industry.
On Tuesday, California governor, Newsom, signed the major bill in response to a nationwide surge in gun violence. Assembly Bill 1594 establishes a “firearm industry standard of conduct” and allows local governments, the state Department of Justice and gun violence survivors to sue for egregious violations of state sales and marketing regulations.
“To the victims of gun violence and their families: California stands with you. The gun industry can no longer hide from the devastating harm their products cause.”
Newsom said in a statement. “Our kids, families and communities deserve streets free of gun violence and gun makers must be held accountable for their role in this crisis. Nearly every industry is held liable when people are hurt or killed by their products — guns should be no different.”
Implementation
The new law will go into effect on July 1, 2023. Others will be implemented immediately due to an urgency clause, which required a two-thirds majority vote in both houses of the Legislature.
Firearm advertising to minors will be restricted by two bills signed on June 30.
The new law comes amid a tense debate over gun laws over whether more firearms restrictions are needed to stem a crisis of gun violence, including two recent mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y. and Uvalde, Texas that left dozens dead, including 19 children.
Newsom and top legislative Democrats pledged to accelerate a package of proposals to further strengthen the state’s firearm regulations, already the strongest in the country.
Congress also passed bipartisan legislation that prevents abusive intimate partners from buying firearms, signed into law by Joe Biden on June 25.
Two days before, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a New York law that requires people to prove a “special need for self protection” in order to bring guns outside their homes. The 6-3 ruling creates legal jeopardy for a range of state firearms laws nationwide, and looms over the bills Newsom has signed.
Sam Paredes, executive director of the Gun Owners of California, said many of the bills likely violate the 1st, 2nd and 14th Amendments.
“None of this stuff, none of the bills that are going to the governor’s desk that he is going to sign pass that [constitutional] test, from our opinion. And I think we will find out in court if our opinion is correct,” Paredes said.
Daniel Reid, western regional director for the National Rifle Assn., also raised serious concerns with restrictions on youth advertising, which he said were “clearly unconstitutional on 1st Amendment grounds.” Reid said that these regulations could hamper conservation and hunting efforts, as well as firearm training and educational opportunities for young people.
Eugene Volokh, a UCLA School of Law professor, said the Supreme Court’s decision limits how expansive laws can be, but that certain restrictions could remain “permissible.”
“Unsurprisingly, legislatures may continue trying to regulate [guns],” Volokh said. They will have to act more cautiously, he added, recognizing that firearms “are now in a zone of considerable constitutional protection.”
The state’s firearm industry standard of conduct, starting in July 2023, will require those making, importing or selling guns to “take reasonable precautions” to make sure the weapons don’t fall into the wrong hands through sales or thefts.
That includes having “reasonable controls” to prevent sales to arms traffickers, straw buyers, those prohibited from owning guns, and anyone deemed to be at “substantial risk” of using the gun improperly.
Gun Bills
Newsom is expected to sign more gun bills this month and in August, after lawmakers return from their summer break and adjourn this year’s legislative session.
Among them is Senate Bill 1327, a closely watched proposal to increase legal liability in the industry by authorizing private lawsuits against anyone who imports, distributes, manufactures or sells illegal firearms such as assault weapons, .50 BMG rifles and so-called ghost guns.
Even so, Newsom said that he had been working closely with the attorney general and legislative leaders “for months” on Senate Bill 918, which would “update and strengthen our public-carry law and make it consistent with the Supreme Court ruling.”
The bill aims to specify where guns are prohibited in California, including on school grounds and universities, public transportation, bars and public parks. Firearm owners who want to obtain a concealed carry license would also face a more stringent application process and additional storage and training requirements. Lawmakers approved the bill during a key committee hearing last month.
“This is critical legislation to strengthen our existing concealed carry laws and ensure every Californian is safe from gun violence,” said state Sen. Anthony Portantino, a La Cañada Flintridge Democrat and author of SB 918. “We must be diligent in addressing the gun violence epidemic in our country, and concealed carry laws are a key component of this effort.
The policy follows suit with Delaware’s and New Jerseys law on gun control whereby Tanya Schardt, senior counsel and director of state and federal policy at the Brady gun control advocacy has said,
“Firearm dealings need to act responsibly
“It’s not asking someone to be psychic,” she added, but to take reasonable precautions in the same way that an automobile dealer could be liable for selling to a customer who is clearly drunk, for instance.
With the new law, she said, “gun makers will finally be held to account for their role in this crisis.”
However there is always room for scepticism regarding liability where the The National Rifle Association have argued the requirements are
vague and represent an attempt to hold gun dealers and makers liable for the actions of others
This challenges the very grounds to suggest that laws are already in place to make those accountable that do harm to others, however lacks the insight that almost every other industry is liable where their products causes harm except for when it come to firearms.