As far as Gavin Newsom is concerned, extremism in defense of gun control is never a vice.
California already has among the strictest gun laws in nation. Previous to this, Californians could only buy one handgun per month, with a ten-day-waiting period to pick up the gun once it is purchased and a ban on modern sporting rifles. Earlier this year, the state required background checks to buy ammunition.
The latest gun laws are drawing ire even before the ink has dried on Newsom’s signature. The new laws will:
- Enact age-based gun bans for adults under the age of 21 who want to purchase centerfire rifles.
- Ban gun shows at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
- Eliminate the state’s $100 cap for concealed-carry permit fees (making the fee limitless).
- Require “precursor parts” (including unfinished lower receivers, barrels, and triggers) to be sent to a licensed dealer for background checks and fees to be assessed.
- Expand so-called “red-flag” laws to allow school administrators, employers, and co-workers to petition courts to have firearms confiscated.
- Expand extreme risk protection orders from one-to-five years, allows courts to issue simultaneous search warrants, eliminating the right to due process.
Even the ACLU, hardly a gun-loving organization, said the last one was too much for them. They said it “poses a significant threat to civil liberties.” Brown, who loved to sign gun control laws, rejected similar legislation twice.
– Lawrence Keane in Gov. Newsom Fiddles With Pointless Gun Restrictions While California Burns