On February 1st, after the increased mass shootings occurring in California, Governor Gavin Newsom along with Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Secretary Anthony Portantino issued Senate Bill 2 to “strengthen California’s public carry laws”. In these shootings, a total of 18 people were killed. The first occurred in Monterey Park on January 21st, where 11 were killed and 9 wounded. The second was on January 23rd in Half Moon Bay, where 7 were killed and 1 was critically injured.
The Bill was first signed on September 30th, 2021 and outlined the necessary requirements for police officer certification. The newest version of the Bill enhances the existing system by “ensuring those permitted to carry firearms in public are responsible and law-abiding individuals”. It also sets the minimum age requirement to “21 years of age to obtain a CCW license” and “advances the training requirements where proper handling, loading, unloading, and storing are taught” to individuals wanting a gun. This Bill also establishes safe community places where guns are prohibited “in areas people should expect freedom from gun violence”.
Newsom documented a statement on the Office of Gavin Newsom that this was not only a response to the recent shootings but also due to “the U.S. Supreme Court striking down a New York law, where aspects of which mirrored California’s public carry laws”. The high-profile gun-control bill being struck down has left states like California in New York scrambling to rewrite their gun safety laws amidst the decision.
General Rob Bonta states that “The Second Amendment is not a regulatory straightjacket — we must protect our communities,” as a response to the many people arguing that stricter gun laws are a violation of people's Second Amendment rights. According to the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, since 2021 California has been the number one state for gun safety with the state seeing a 37% lower gun death rate than the national average.
However, despite even more restrictions being placed on how people can obtain guns such as the age and training requirements the question remains if this will be enough to stop more mass shootings. While this Bill has was only updated less than 32 hours ago, if it can positively impact the percentage of mass shootings occurring quickly Californias gun death rate will continue to depreciate significantly more. Many people want guns to protect themselves or their families, but at what cost does wanting a gun for safety outweigh the deaths occurring because of those with the guns? These new laws highlight the division of the country in which the line between self-protection with a gun, and the danger of owning guns is indifferent.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/30/us/half-moon-bay-repair-bill-monday/index.html
https://abc7.com/911-calls-released-monterey-park-mass-shooting/12762690/
https://post.ca.gov/sb-2
2 comments:
I believe that a stricter implication of the second amendment is necessary. The states with stricter and stricter gun laws show a lower percentage of shootings and with this follows parents feeling safer with their children. While I do understand where people who support the 2nd amendment come from, I feel that the concept of guns itself scares off a lot of people. A community should be built upon safety and security, but with the recent shootings in place, more and more people fear and seclude themselves. There needs to be restrictions put in place and I feel that California is headed toward the right direction.
I think the issue with gun restrictions being left up to the states is that because guns can be transported from state to state, the fact that a gun may be prohibited in one or the other is virtually useless information. For example, California borders Arizona, where gun laws are much, much less restricted. You can buy a literal rifle at Dick's Sporting Goods, without a waiting period or passing a gun safety exam. Between that friction and the ability to purchase guns illegally, so long as guns like that are able to get into the hands of anyone in the states at all, in my opinion gun violence will remain a problem. In the time since this was written, a kid who survived Sandy Hook survived the second mass shotting at MSU. Something isn't working, even if states that are "blue" are banning weapons of mass destruction.
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