The Democrat-controlled state Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday gave a rubber stamp to a sheaf of measures that would change the landscape of gun laws in California.
The proposals, being rushed through the legislature by Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León – currently locked in a battle with Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom over who will lead the charge toward expansive new gun regulations California – confusingly included three duplicate measures crafted from gutted and amended zombie bills left behind by the resignation of a fellow Democrat.
The measures include restrictions on “ghost guns,” retroactive bans on currently grandfathered firearms and magazines going back to 1899, outlawing the use of “bullet buttons,” founding a state-run Firearm Violence Research Center, changing how California defines ammunition and requiring the reporting of stolen guns. The bills all passed in 5-2 votes along party lines.
“There is a good chance of getting the legislative package of gun-control bills to the Governor,” De Leon said in a letter sent to Newsom last month, arguing state lawmakers are better placed to enact sweeping gun control laws than the Lt. Governor’s own Safety for All ballot initiative.
