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Lawmakers in California seek to put 10 year gun bans on more misdemeanor offensives

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State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, wants more gun bans on more misdemeanor gun offenders. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/AP)

 

A proposal backed by a number of gun control groups that would expand the list of crimes that trigger an automatic 10-year ban on gun possession is moving through the Senate.

 

The bill, backed by a lawmaker who helped write last year’s Gun Violence Restraining Order legislation, would add such crimes as selling ammunition to someone under the age of 21 to current ones that mandate a ban on gun ownership and purchases for a decade. Introduced in April, it passed the Senate by a 24-15 vote and is now winding its way through the Assembly.

 

The measure’s sponsor is Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, who contends it will help stop future gun crimes.

 

“The horrific tragedy that happened nearly a year ago in Isla Vista has strengthened the resolve of so many of us that we must do more to prevent gun violence,” she said in a statement. “We know that those convicted of nonviolent firearm-related offenses are more likely than the average person to commit very serious crimes in the future. They are five times more likely to be charged with crimes like murder, seven times more likely to be charged with other nonviolent firearm offenses, and four times more likely to be charged with new violent offenses.”

 

Jackson’s bill, SB 347, adds to the state’s already existing list of misdemeanor crimes that result in a 10 year prohibition on possessing a firearm. These include:

 

Transferring a handgun without a firearms license.

Selling or giving possession of ammunition to a minor.

Selling handgun ammunition to a person under 21 years of age.

Possession of ammunition by a person prohibited from possessing a firearm.

Furnishing ammunition to a person prohibited from possessing ammunition.

Carrying ammunition onto school grounds.

Receiving stolen property consisting of a firearm.

Carrying a loaded or concealed weapon if the person has been previously convicted of a drug charges.

Possession of a firearm that is not registered.

 

“This bill helps keep guns out of the hands of those who shouldn’t have them and keeps our communities safer,” said Jackson.

 

The legislation is supported by the Santa Barbara Police Department, the Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association and other law enforcement groups as well as the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and Coalition Against Gun Violence.

 

In opposition are the National Rifle Association and its state affiliate, the California Rifle and Pistol Association who contend the move is overly broad.

 

“The addition of these misdemeanor offenses to the prohibited category list that include the ‘transfer’ of firearms or ammunition could entrap family members who are giving firearms to relatives and are unaware of the requirements for firearm transfers through licensed dealers,” reads an alert from the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action.

 

Jackson’s bill is scheduled to be heard Wednesday by the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.

Paskalos

PEW: Majority of Americans Say Gun Ownership Protects Them from Crime

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A majority of Americans say it is more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns than for the government to limit access to firearms, a Pew Research Center survey conducted this month found.

The nationwide survey was conducted Dec. 3 to 7 with 1,507 adults using landlines and cellphones and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points for all respondents. For African-Americans, the error margin is plus or minus 10 points.

The center said that it was the first time in two decades of its surveys on attitudes about firearms that a majority of Americans had expressed more support for gun ownership rights than for gun control.

Fifty-two percent of respondents said it was more important to protect gun ownership rights, and 46 percent said the priority should be controlled access to firearms.

In a 2000 Pew survey, 29 percent chose gun rights over gun control, and in a 2013 survey conducted a month after the Newtown shooting, 45 percent favored gun rights.

The Pew poll on firearms, conducted in early December, also found that African-Americans have become increasingly likely to believe that firearm ownership does more to protect people than it does to threaten an individual’s safety, even as they continue to support gun control measures.

When asked in 2012, 29 percent of African-Americans said guns offered people protection rather than exposed them to greater danger, but in this year’s survey, the number of African-Americans who viewed firearms as offering more personal safety nearly doubled to 54 percent.

By contrast, the views of whites who believe guns are more likely to provide personal protection have changed more modestly rising to 62 percent this year from 54 percent in 2012, the poll found.

Overall, 57 percent of Americans said gun ownership was more helpful in protecting people from becoming victims of crime, and 38 percent said it did more to endanger one’s safety.