California lawmakers have been hard at work trying to reduce gun violence throughout the state.

On Tuesday, the California Senate Committee of Public Safety voted to pass AB 1483 and AB 1598 without any opposition amongst the committee.

AB 1483, if passed, would prevent individuals from purchasing more than one firearm a month and would nullify the exemption for private sale transactions.

AB 1598 would increase firearm safety education by updating the test taken to receive a firearm safety certificate to also cover benefits and risks of owning a firearm and bringing a firearm into the home. The test would also include the increased risk of death to someone in the household by suicide, homicide, or unintentional injury. The bill would also require the department to prepare a firearm safety certificate study guide prior to the certificate test date.

Bills Circulating through California Legislature

These two bills are some of the most recent efforts from California Legislators to make an impact on gun violence in the state. California has numerous bills circulating through Senate and Assembly to make the state safer from tragic gun violence events. Some of these bills include:

AB 28 – Firearms and ammunition: excise tax

AB 36 – Domestic violence protective orders: possession of firearm

AB 574 – Firearms: dealer records of sale

AB 732 – Crimes: relinquishment of firearms

AB 733 – Firearms: sale by government entity

AB 1089 – Firearms: 3D printing

AB 1133 – Firearms: concealed carry licenses

AB 1406 – Firearms: waiting periods

AB 1420 – Firearm dealer information

AB 1598 – Gun violence: firearm safety education

SB 2 – Firearms: License Criteria

SB 368 – Firearms: Extending firearm prohibitions

SB 452 – Firearms: Microstamping for semiautomatic handguns

All Assembly bills have passed the Assembly floor and are now in Senate committees being voted on and discussed. Likewise, all Senate bills have passed the Senate floor and are in Assembly committees currently.

Do California’s Gun Safety Laws Work?

Last September, Attorney General Rob Bonta established the “Office of Gun Violence Prevention” to support California’s effort to reduce gun violence statewide and provide tools and resources for individuals in need of help.

According to the Office of Gun Violence Prevention’s website, California gun safety laws do work, ranking the state 44^th out of 50 for lowest firearm mortality in the country.  The only states below California’s firearm mortality rate are Hawaii, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, new York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

The Firearms Policy Coalition views this issue differently. FPC’s Vice President Richar Thomson shared his comments in a recent press release regarding the numerous bills aimed towards 2^nd amendment rights.

“This anti-rights package shows the legislature’s naked contempt for peaceable People, and their willingness to use state violence and send armed agents of the state to take people’s property and throw them in government cages merely for the free exercise of a fundamental right.”