Gavin Newsom signed several gun control bills into law. Here’s what some of them do
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NEWSOM SIGNS SLATE OF GUN BILLS INTO LAW
California Gov. Gavin Newsom this week signed a number of gun-related bills into law. A few of them grabbed our interest.
The first, AB 2642, by Assemblyman Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, is intended to crack down on people who openly carry firearms in front of poling places.
The bill creates a presumption that a person who does so, while interacting with or observing election-related activities, is engaging in intimidation.
In a statement of support for the bill, Berman said that there is “a nationwide exodus” of poll workers, including in California, where 41% of the state’s counties have a new chief elections official.
“The PEACE Act would make it clear that the polling place is not the place for guns by creating a presumption that people who carry firearms around election activities or workers did so with the intent to intimidate,” Berman said in the statement.
And then there’s AB 2739, by Assemblyman Brian Maienschein, D-San Diego. That bill makes it so that people who either openly or concealed carry in a prohibited place can have their guns seized and destroyed.
That bill seeks to establish uniformity to California policy regarding guns used in crimes, that they always be taken away and destroyed.
“This bill will help increase public safety by cracking down on irresponsible gun ownership and removing illegally carried weapons from our streets,” Maienschein said in a statement supporting the bill.
Finally, there’s SB 902, by Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside. That bill bars people convicted on animal cruelty charges from legally possessing a firearm for 10 years.
“Animal cruelty is a known predictor of current and future violence, including crimes of assault, rape, murder, arson, domestic violence, and abuse of children,” Roth said in a statement.
In a statement, Newsom said of the bills, “California won’t wait until the next school shooting or mass shooting to act.”
He slammed Congress for its inaction on the issue of gun control, and said the Golden State is leading the nation on gun laws.
“Data shows that California’s gun safety laws are effective in preventing gun-related deaths — which makes the ongoing inaction and obstruction by politicians in the pocket of the gun lobby even more reprehensible,” he said.
SCHOOL SHOOTING DRILLS MUST NOW BE ‘AGE-APPROPRIATE’
Newsom this week also signed AB 1858, by Assemblyman Chris Ward, D-San Diego, into law.
That bill would, among other things, require school shooting drills to be “age-appropriate,” ban “simulated fire” during such drills, and require greater parental notification that such drills are taking place.
“The Safe and Prepared Schools Act will ensure that we are not doing more harm than good in training our students to be ready in the event of these unfortunate tragedies,” Ward said in a statement.
“At the same time, school staff will have clear guidance on how to implement these drills in a responsible and professional way so we’re not creating more anxiety and traumatizing our students,” he said.
Ward’s office cited a study from Everytown for Gun Safety and the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Social Dynamics and Wellbeing Lab that shows that there is a link between realistic school shooting drills and students experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress.
HARRIS MUST TAP INTO HER BI-RACIAL BACKGROUND, POLL SAYS
Via David Lightman...
Kamala Harris needs to call more attention to her gender and racial identity as an Asian American and Black woman if she wants to attract more Latina and Asian American women voters, a new survey released Wednesday found.
“The Harris campaign has not led with Harris’ identity in the first month of the campaign, but this poll shows her campaign needs to shift gears in the final stretch and introduce herself to voters who remain unfamiliar with her,” said an analysis of the poll, conducted by She The People and the 2040 Strategy Group.
She The People is an Oakland-based political network of women of color. The Strategy Group are public affairs and diversity, equity and inclusion consultants. The survey polled 1,487 women across the nation earlier this month
It found Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, had the backing of 77% of Black women.
52% of Hispanic and Latina women and 46% from Asian American women. White women preferred Republican nominee Donald Trump, 49% to 40%.
Eleven percent of Latina women and 23% of Asian American women are undecided, the survey said.
Harris can attract more women of color, the analysis said, “by bringing attention to her identities and the key issues that resonate with women of color voters, who will be crucial to her victory.”
The poll found Latina women want to hear more in the campaign about the economy, efforts to curb gun violence and immigration. Asian American women want to know more about immigration, gun violence prevention and abortion.
“The strategy to win over Latina and Asian American women (along with younger Black women) starts with her race and gender identity and continues with showing that her plans will address issues that deeply motivate these critical voters,” said Aimee Allison, found of She The People.
Harris has not stressed her racial identity. She has defined herself largely as a child of the middle class, one who understands their struggles.
The daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, she graduated from Howard University, a prestigious historically black school. She was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, a historically Black sorority.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The death penalty must be abolished. If an innocent man can so brazenly be put to death with the world watching, it’s a representation of terror not justice. Missouri murdered Marcellus Williams with the Courts as an accomplice and a cruel Governor with blood on his hands.”
- Assemblyman Ash Kalra, D-San Jose, via X.
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