Image by Jason Gillman from Pixabay
September 12, 2023 - SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposal to amend the United States Constitution with a Right to Safety – currently moving through the California Legislature as a resolution – includes commonsense gun safety policies that are modeled off the successful laws here in California.
Here are the top 4 ways California is keeping people safer from gun violence:
- Keeping guns out of the wrong hands. California leads the nation with gun safety laws that work: universal background checks, 10-day purchase waiting periods, mental health reporting, requiring gun buyers to be 21 years and older, allowing people to sue those responsible for the spread of assault weapons and ghost guns, and gun violence restraining orders (red flag law).
- Banning assault weapons and cracking down on ghost guns. State law prohibits the civilian purchase of assault weapons. Additionally, as ghost guns have proliferated, Governor Newsom and the legislature have cracked down with policies that limit their spread.
- Investing more money than ever before on gun violence prevention. Last year, Governor Newsom announced a record $156 million investment in anti-violence programs uniquely suited to individual community needs.
- Holding gun manufacturers accountable. Governor Newsom signed legislation last year allowing the state, local governments and Californians to sue irresponsible gun makers and dealers for the carnage their products cause.
California’s gun safety laws work – and the Right to Safety will give communities the tools they need to adopt similar policies to keep people safer.
- California ranked #1 for gun safety
- State’s gun death rate is 43% lower than the rest of the U.S.
- Gun laws helped save 19,000 Californians in the last decade
- Since early 1990s, California has cut its gun death rate in half
- Over half of crime guns traced by authorities were sold in other states
Source: Office of the Governor
