CA Lawmakers Reject Bill Requiring Parents to Report Gun Ownership

A California bill requiring parents to report gun ownership failed in committee Wednesday amid opposition from the American Civil Liberties Union and the NRA.

CBS News Los Angeles noted that the bill was sponsored by State Sen. Anthony Portantino (D), who said, “What the bill says is, when you register your kid for school, you have to notify the school that there’s a gun in your house and whether it’s adequately safely stored and whether your child has access to the gun.”

The Associated Press pointed out that Portantino (D) pledged to amend the bill if it made it out of committee, but too many of Portantino’s colleagues worried about possible overreach. The bill was defeated by a vote of 5-2.

State Sen. Dave Cortese ID) commented on aspects of the bill, saying, “Those go so far beyond my core beliefs in civil liberties that I just can’t associate an ‘aye’ vote.”

Senate Education Committee’s Chairwoman Connie Leyva (D) also expressed concern about Portantino’s bill, saying, “I believe a better approach is by addressing student mental health. This is an important issue, a critically important issue, but this bill is not the answer.”

California is already the most stringently gun-controlled state in the Union, and Michael Bloomberg-affiliated Everytown for Gun Safety ranks CA No. 1 for “Gun Law Strength.”

California gun controls include universal background checks, a gun registry, an “assault weapons” ban, a 10-day waiting period on gun purchases, a limit on the number of guns a law-abiding citizen can purchase each month, a “good cause” requirement for concealed carry permit issuance, a red flag law, a ban on campus carry for self-defense, and a ban on K-12 teachers possessing guns for classroom defense.

The AP observed that California also “requires background checks for people buying ammunition.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is pushing for a law to allow private citizens to suit manufacturers of “assault weapons.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.