The Golden State’s A+ gun laws + Courage California snubs Sylvia Rubio + Who’s electable?
Top of the Tuesday morning to you, readers.
First up — Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, and Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara are joining Equality California this morning to announce a bill to prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage to HIV-positive Californians based solely on their status.
The unveiling is scheduled for 9 a.m. at One Community Health, per press release.
ICYMI — The Society of Professional Journalists’ Northern California chapter has named The Sacramento Bee among winners of its James Madison Freedom of Information Awards, recognizing the news organization’s victories in 2019 as it fought for transparency in public records and used those records for in-depth accountability reporting.
SPJ recognized The Bee’s successful lawsuit against the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, filed jointly in January 2019 by The Sacramento Bee and the Los Angeles Times after Sheriff Scott Jones’ department rejected requests for records on deputies who had fired their weapons or engaged in misconduct while on duty.
As SPJ notes in the announcement, that lawsuit was the first in California that sought to enforce Senate Bill 1421, a police transparency law that went into effect at the start of 2019.
SPJ also recognized OverCorrection, a joint investigation by The Sacramento Bee and ProPublica that examined how California’s prison realignment affected local jails. Gov. Gavin Newsom acted on that project, announcing a plan to tighten oversight of county lockups.
WE’RE NUMBER 1
The Golden State’s firearm regulations once again earned California a top spot on the Giffords Law Center’s annual gun law scorecard.
The center evaluated laws, death rates and export capabilities, across the country in 2019, and ranked the states according to how safe its legal team considers the legislation and policies.
California provides an index of rules to evaluate, including an expanded gun violence restraining order law and the Department of Justice’s system for confiscating firearms from prohibited persons. The center also recognized California’s universal background checks, dealer licensing and gun show regulations.
California additionally earned honorable mentions for its seventh-lowest gun death rate and fifth-lowest gun export rate.
A step further — California should increase community violence prevention program funding, the center noted, and crack down on residents who find a way to “skirt existing gun regulations.”
It’s not you, it’s them — “Weaker laws in nearby states undermine California’s comprehensive gun safety laws, fueling gun crime and violence in the state — more than 10,000 guns are trafficked into California and used in crimes each year,” the scorecard read. “While California has its own anti-trafficking laws, firearm trafficking is not treated as a federal crime, making enforcement difficult and enabling criminals to exploit weaknesses in the system.”
Other A players — Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Hawaii
Flunked out — New Hampshire, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, Texas, West Virginia, Alabama, North Dakota, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alaska, Kansas, South Dakota, Arizona, Kentucky, Missouri, Idaho, Wyoming and Mississippi
COURAGE CALIFORNIA WEIGHS IN
Still figuring out who to vote for? Courage California has some suggestions for you.
The progressive group this morning released its statewide voter guide, offering recommendations for federal-, state-, county- and city-level races across California.
“California needs a straightforward, reliable resource to learn how to vote their values and bring progress to our communities. The 2020 Courage California Voter Guide is the solution for those who want to vote courageously, and hold our elected officials to the same standards,” said Courage California Executive Director Eddie Kurtz in a statement.
Though Courage California has yet to offer an endorsement in the race for Assembly District 57, the group has some questions about candidate Sylvia Rubio’s political sympathies.
In a strongly worded letter to Rubio, Kurtz demanded to know who Rubio voted for in the 2016 primary election; Politico recently reported that Rubio was a registered Republican from 2010 to 2017.
“Should we assume you voted for Trump in the 2016 Republican primary? And if not, for which Republican presidential candidate did you cast your vote?” Kurtz wrote in his letter. “You have stated that you now share Democratic values, which we applaud, but this does not explain your voting history. In fact, it raises more questions than answers. At what point did your values change? What happened in 2017 that caused you to register as a Democrat?”
Rubio’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Rubio, whose sisters Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio and Sen. Susan Rubio already serve in the Legislature, is running against Lisa Calderon to fill the seat which is being vacated by outgoing Assemblyman Ian Calderon.
WHICH 2020 CANDIDATE CAN WIN CA?
Via Bryan Anderson
It was a tame environment at the Sacramento Press Club on Monday, as four state directors made their case to attendees about why Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Michael Bloomberg and Joe Biden deserve support from California voters
While the state campaign leaders were heavy on generalities and short on specific strategies ahead of the March 3 primary, they did offer insight into why they think their candidate could best take on President Donald Trump. Electability is a top priority for likely Democratic primary voters.
Jessica Mejia, Biden’s state director, stressed the need for Democrats to gain more congressional representation and said the former vice president is in the best position to perform well in key swing states, which could create a tailwind for down ballot candidates.
“If he’s on top of the ticket, we have the best chance of retaking the House and possibly taking the Senate,” Mejia said.
Bloomberg’s state director, Chris Myers, pointed to the former New York City mayor’s work in office and ability to win in key battleground states. A Quinnipiac University poll released on Monday showed Bloomberg and Sanders with the best chance of defeating Trump in a hypothetical general election matchup.
Nicole DeMont of Warren’s campaign described Warren’s role in creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and highlighted how she beat a Republican incumbent.
“I think that’s exactly the progressive track record of getting things done that we need in the White House,” DeMont said.
Rafael Návar said Sanders “has an energized base,” which is required of a candidates that wants to unseat Trump.
“We have the most donors, we have the most volunteers and we have the most energy,” Návar said. “That’s what you’re gonna to take you to the long haul to take on this campaign.”
Pete Buttigieg’s campaign had accepted an invitation to Monday’s event but withdrew because of a scheduling conflict.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Well I’m putting in my bid for you to be the vice president. And so all you people that are on the debate stage, fighting it out, duking it out, Democrats, when it’s time to really go down and there’s one man or woman standing, I think this would be a good one right next to you.”
- Tyra Banks, taking to The View to endorse California Gov. Gavin Newsom for the No. 2 spot on the Democratic 2020 presidential campaign ticket. Newsom said he has no interest in the job.
Best of The Bee:
- Assemblyman Evan Low, a Silicon Valley Democrat, wants to make sure California doesn’t spend any more taxpayer money at President Donald Trump’s hotels, by Wes Venteicher
PG&E Corp. is asking for more rate hikes as it continues to wrestle with the fallout from California’s devastating wildfires and the risks of new fires, by Dale Kasler
The San Francisco Chronicle’s request to Sutter County’s sheriff may have appeared routine to a journalist used to requesting government documents. But it set off a cascade of threats and vitriol in the conservative rural county after the sheriff announced on Facebook he was legally obligated to provide the names, by Ryan Sabalow