On Saturday, Governor Gavin Newsom inked his signature to six anti-gun bills, continuing his attack on law-abiding gun owners as he closes his final months as the Governor of California. Since taking office in 2019, Newsom has made gun control a hallmark of his administration, signing more than 80 gun-related measures and piling new taxes, mandates, and restrictions onto an already hostile landscape for the Second Amendment.
His tenure has brought an 11% excise tax on firearms and ammunition, sweeping restrictions on lawful carry, firearm bans, expanded red flag laws, new training requirements, additional restrictions on dealers and firearms owners, and layer upon layer of bureaucracy. Even then, Governor Gun Grab Gavin, was not content with California's sweeping gun-control regime. Facing mounting legal challenges from the NRA, Newsom took his campaign nationwide, pushing a proposed 28th Amendment to enshrine new firearm restrictions in the U.S. Constitution. Governor Newsom has repeatedly touted California as a national model for gun control. After eight years of taxes, mandates, restrictions, and red tape, Newsom has certainly made California a model; just not one that respects the Constitution.
As Newsom’s time in office draws to a close, he seems increasingly eager to introduce himself to voters beyond California’s borders. Let it be known, wherever his ambitions may lead; his record on the Second Amendment will follow.
Measures signed into law by Governor Newsom on Saturday:
Assembly Bill 1743 expands the state’s firearm owner data-sharing framework by increasing access to information maintained in California’s Automated Firearms System and related databases. Expanding this system raises significant concerns given California’s track record of protecting firearm owner data. In 2022, the California Department of Justice exposed the personal information of thousands of firearm owners and concealed carry permit holders in a widely reported data breach.
Assembly Bill 1753 “clarifies” California’s Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO) violation framework by explicitly subjecting ammunition possession to the same hearing and enforcement procedures currently applied to firearms. Red flag laws have repeatedly stripped law-abiding citizens of their Second Amendment rights while undermining basic due process protections. Existing red flag laws in California should not be expanded under the guise of “clarification,” but repealed.
Assembly Bill 1974, framed as a “voluntary” firearm storage measure, expands government involvement in the custody and disposition of lawfully owned firearms. AB 1974 creates another pathway through which law-abiding Californians may face administrative hurdles when seeking the return of their property. The bill’s destruction of provisions and reliance on California’s existing firearm-release bureaucracy raises concerns that firearms surrendered for temporary safekeeping could become difficult or costly to recover.
Assembly Bill 2047 targets 3-dimensional printers by restricting their sale or transfer unless equipped with so-called “firearm blueprint detection algorithms.” The bill represents a broad attack on lawful technology and raises concerns about free speech, innovation, and the rights of law-abiding Californians. These concerns are not just realized by firearm owners, but tens-of-thousands of STEM educators and technology professionals.
Senate Bill 948 dramatically expands California’s Firearm Safety Certificate (FSC) requirements by mandating a minimum four-hour training course beginning in 2028, including live-fire exercises and state-prescribed classroom instruction. Criminal misuse of firearms is not the result of insufficient government mandates, yet this bill imposes additional regulatory burdens on law-abiding citizens while doing nothing to address crime.
Senate Bill 1220 adds a new firearm-prohibiting misdemeanor to California’s list of offenses that trigger a 10-year firearm prohibition. Specifically, a person convicted of possessing, selling, transferring, or otherwise dealing with a firearm that has had its identifying marks or serial number altered could face the prohibition. While existing law already makes it a misdemeanor to possess or transfer a firearm with such traits, this bill expands California’s ever-growing list of misdemeanor offenses that can result in the loss of constitutional rights.
NRA-ILA will continue to fight to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Californians. Please stay tuned to your inbox and www.nraila.org for further updates.
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