Portantino’s Gun Safety Bills Pass Assembly Public Safety Committee

For Immediate Release: June 28, 2023

Contact: Lerna Shirinian, (818) 409-0400

Portantino’s Gun Safety Bills Pass Assembly Public Safety Committee

Sacramento, CA – Senate Bills 2 and 368, authored by Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – Burbank), passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee today. SB 2, sponsored by Governor Newsom and Attorney General Bonta, would implement significant improvements to California’s existing concealed-carry weapon (CCW) laws. SB 368 is a common sense and comprehensive gun safety effort that would expand and strengthen firearm ownership prohibition laws and create additional responsibilities for commercial gun stores.

SB 2 is an effort to strengthen California’s concealed-carry permitting laws. It is sponsored by Governor Newsom and Attorney General Bonta, with whom the Senator partnered to create a CCW regime that is both consistent with Supreme Court precedent and keeps Californians safe from gun violence.

“I am proud to be working with Governor Newsom, Attorney General Bonta and grassroots activists on SB 2 to strengthen our existing concealed carry laws and ensure every Californian is safe from gun violence,” stated Senator Portantino. “With bold leadership on the issue of gun safety and reform, we can save lives.”

“California is laser-focused on doing everything in our power to protect our kids and safeguard our communities against gun violence,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “With a gun death rate 37% lower than the national average, we know our policies are working – but we can’t stop now. Passing Senate Bill 2 is essential to saving lives and making our neighborhoods safer.”

Specifically, SB 2 strengthens state gun safety by:

• Ensuring those carrying firearms in public are responsible, law-abiding citizens who do not pose a danger to themselves or others;
• Protecting children and young adults from gun violence by setting a minimum age requirement of 21 years of age to obtain a CCW license;
• Advancing safety through stronger storage and training requirements on the proper handling, loading, unloading, and storage of firearms; limiting all CCW licensees to carrying no more than two firearms at any given time in public;
• Safeguarding the public by identifying certain sensitive public places where guns may not be carried;
• Including due process protections to allow anyone denied a CCW license based on a finding that they are not qualified to carry firearms in public to a hearing before a superior court judge.

“Addressing gun violence is critical to protecting public safety,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Thoughts and prayers in response to gun violence will never be enough: We need courageous action by our leaders — here in California and beyond. We owe our communities stronger protections. Senate Bill 2 will strengthen our concealed carry permit laws to help ensure that dangerous individuals may not carry guns in public — especially in sensitive places where our children gather — and prevent horrific tragedies that we have seen far too often. I thank the Assembly for moving this bill forward. We can’t afford to wait even one minute more.”

“The Supreme Court’s Bruen decision was an affront to gun safety and opened the floodgates for reckless concealed carry. Even with the Golden State’s strong concealed carry license system, new guardrails are required to prevent this life-saving apparatus from crumbling. SB 2 is critical for updating and improving California’s concealed carry system to ensure loaded and concealed weapons are not allowed in sensitive places – like schools or health care facilities – prioritizing health and safety for all. Brady thanks and applauds Senator Portantino for introducing this important legislation,” stated Kris Brown, President of Brady.

“Guns don’t belong in our parks or libraries or college campuses – we deserve to live and learn in places safe from gun violence,” said Liz Russell, a volunteer with the California chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Through this committee vote, we send a resolute message: strong gun laws work and California will continue to lead the way. We thank our gun sense champions in the Assembly and Senator Portantino for his leadership in the fight against gun violence.”

Under SB 368, licensed retailers and law enforcement agencies are not required to accept and store firearms during a mental health crisis. There is also no current process for extending the 10-year prohibition of firearms if an individual is found to be in violation within this initial period. In addition, many gun stores try to attract new customers by holding “opportunity drawing,” or raffles, for various firearms accessories.

“Data tells us that households with firearms have a higher risk of suicide and accidental firearm injuries,” stated Senator Portantino. “Additionally, violating the 10-year prohibition makes a person incapable of safely owning a gun. An easier path to gun storage and thorough risk assessment will make California safer.”

SB 368 would:

• require a licensed firearms dealer to accept for storage a firearm transferred by an individual to prevent it from being used to attempt suicide.
• prohibit a licensed firearms dealer from offering an opportunity to win an item of inventory in a game dominated by chance and would exempt from this prohibition nonprofit organizations under certain circumstances.
• extend the 10-year prohibition on owning a firearm by an additional 10 years if an individual is found to be in violation within the initial 10 years.

“With the firearm suicide rate increasing among young people and now at a 10-year high, the unprecedented surge in gun sales in the U.S., and the already growing rates of firearm suicide across all age groups, SB 368 is a much-needed common sense strategy to help save lives,” stated Margot Bennett, Executive Director of Women Against Gun Violence. “We look forward to this critical legislation passing the Assembly and being signed into California law by our Governor.”

Senator Portantino has long been a champion of common-sense gun reform policies. During his time in the Assembly, he successfully authorized local governments to prohibit the open carry of handguns and rifles in certain areas and as Senator, he raised the firearm purchase age in California to twenty-one. The Senator has authored legislation related to firearms storage and gun purchase safeguards, as well as a legislation that reduces the number of firearms an unlicensed individual is annually able to sell and the frequency with which they are able to sell. Most recently, he authored legislation aimed at preventing tragic schools shootings and a major gun reform measure that offers a new tool to combat the rise in gun violence and save lives – a private right of action.

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