Senator Portantino’s Statement on SCOTUS Ruling Against Gun Safety
For Immediate Release: June 23, 2022
Contact: Lerna Shirinian, (818) 409-0400
Senator Portantino’s Statement on SCOTUS Ruling Against Gun Safety
Portantino, AG Bonta and Governor Newsom Collaborating on California’s Legislative Response to the Ruling
Sacramento, CA - Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – La Cañada Flintridge) released the following statement regarding the Supreme Court’s decision against New York’s concealed-carry permitting law. Today, Senator Portantino joined Attorney General Rob Bonta to announce Senate Bill 918, California’s legislative response to the courts action.
“The SCOTUS decision is a setback for safety. I am grateful that we had a plan in place to protect our current and future legislative gun control efforts. In the wake of the Texas tragedy and the continued threat of mass shootings, it’s a moral imperative that California leads on this issue. I am proud to be working with the Attorney General and Governor Newsom on SB 918. It is critical legislation to strengthen our existing concealed carry laws to ensure every Californian is safe from gun violence. We must be diligent in addressing the gun violence epidemic in our country and concealed carry laws are a key component of this effort.”
During his time in the Assembly, Senator Portantino successfully banned the open carry of handguns and rifles in California and as Senator, he raised the general gun purchase age in California to twenty-one. In 2019, Governor Newsom also signed Senator Portantino’s SB 172. The bill enacted a slate of significant provisions related to firearms storage by broadening criminal storage crimes, adding criminal storage offenses to those offenses that can trigger a 10-year firearm ban, and creating an exemption to firearm loan requirements for the purposes of preventing suicide. The same year, SB 376 was signed into law, which reduces the number of firearms an unlicensed individual is annually able to sell and the frequency with which they are able to sell.
In 2021, Senate Bill 715 was signed into law, which enacts important gun purchase safeguards. This year, Senator Portantino has authored SB 906, a measure that aims to prevent tragic schools shootings and prioritizes student safety by ensuring safe at-home storage of firearms and quick, robust investigations of imminent school threats. SB 1327, jointly authored with Senator Hertzberg this year, is another major gun reform measure that offers a new tool to combat the rise in gun violence and save lives – a private right of action. Governor Gavin Newsom is the official sponsor of the legislation.
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