California gun control advocate targets hunting licenses in proposed state law

A California Democrat responsible for some of the state’s strictest gun control laws wants to tighten oversight of hunting licenses through a proposed law that he says was inspired by a shooting last year at a San Diego County synagogue.

State Sen. Anthony J. Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge, introduced legislation on Monday to require the state Department of Justice and gun retailers to determine the legitimacy of hunting licenses issued for people under 21 before a gun is purchased.

He announced Senate Bill 914 in response to the April 2019 shooting at Chabad of Poway that left one dead and three more injured after an accused 19-year-old gunman allegedly purchased a firearm with an invalid hunting license and opened fire at the synagogue.

“Sadly, no one can undo the tragedy that occurred in Poway,” Portantino said in a press release. “I pray for the families and hope the lessons learned can be used proactively for a better and safer place for our Californians to worship and for families to raise their children in safety.”

Portantino has written state laws that prohibit the purchase of more than one semi-automatic firearm in a month and ban people from openly carrying handguns and rifles on “Main Street.”

Last year, Portantino wrote legislation to make it illegal for those under 21 to buy long guns like semi-automatic rifles commonly used in mass shootings, unless they have a valid hunting license.

The Poway shooter, John Earnest, reportedly bought the gun the day before the April 27 attack, but his license was not slated to go into effect until July.

Portantino’s office said in a statement that this bill would ensure “background checks are done comprehensively so the same mistakes don’t happen again” and that the legislation would “clarify the definition of a valid hunting license.”

Sam Paredes, executive director of Gun Owners of California, said he believes Portantino’s proposal is unconstitutional and will likely end up in the courts. In the meantime, he added, it’s going to be a “Charlie Foxtrot of the first order.”

“You’re now asking the DOJ, which has a history of bungling databases and juggling databases that do not speak to each other, to hire personnel that can make everything work together,” Paredes said. “And you’re going to add by necessity the California Department of Fish and Wildlife into it in order to verify the hunting licenses because they’re the ones that maintain that database. We envision a coordination nightmare.”

This story was originally published February 3, 2020 at 2:47 PM.