you may have heard someone say California has some of the nation's strictest gun laws. in fact, California has been ranked #1 state with strongest laws for gun safety by the Giffords Law Center.
do you know what purchasing a gun looks like in the Golden State? according the Office of Attorney General: "all firearms purchases and transfers, including private party transactions and sales at gun shows, must be made through a California licensed dealer [...] California law imposes a 10-day waiting period before a firearm can be released to a purchaser or transferee.* Pursuant to Penal Code sect. 27510, a California licensed dealer is prohibited from selling, supplying, delivering, transferring or giving possession or control of any firearm to any person under the age of 21 years, except as specifically exempted."
*during that ten-day period a background check is conducted on the firearm's buyer
this week's post will provide information about five major laws that have shaped gun culture and gun use in the state of California.
Second Amendment (1791)
the first gun law that affected the land of California was the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was ratified as part of the Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791. some Americans think the text is "ambiguous," while some others actually believe the opposite.
the Second Amendment states:
if it were written today, it might read something like: "To secure the safety and borders of the USA, the federal government grants to each citizen the right to own firearms, as well as the right to be protected by law in case one needs to use firearms on behalf of the USA, whether as an individual or with a self-organized militia."
it is important to note that in 1791, the "People" that the government granted rights to excluded anyone not viewed by the government as "white" citizens. so while the Second Amendment was drafted up almost sixty years before California became a state, white men with guns emboldened by the Second Amendment certainly transformed California's landscape, and also hugely harmed people of color, particularly indigenous peoples, throughout the state's history with impunity because of it.
there would be no such thing as the state of California if it were not for the Second Amendment and the use of firearms to take land by force from indigenous peoples. (for more information on this topic please read Loaded or An Indigenous People's History of the United States by noted historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz.)
Mulford Act (1967)
did you know California was once an open-carry state? it's true. since its establishment in 1850, California allowed for its citizens to open carry loaded firearms in public. California was part of the "Wild West" too, remember? until, of course, the state passed the Mulford Act of 1967, repealing the previous-standing law that had allowed for citizens to open carry statewide.
what sparked the change? the bill was proposed by Oakland Assemblyman Don Mulford (R) who aimed to strip open carry rights from members of the Black Panther Party of Self Defense. the Panthers had staged a protest at the state capitol in Sacramento on May of 1967 with several members carrying weapons aimed at the sky. this act seemingly shocked some people into action to repeal the open carry law.
Mulford's proposed bill was largely supported by California's Republican officials and even by the National Rifle Association. it was officially signed into act in 1967 by Governor Ronald Reagan.
today, the Mulford Act is officially enforced as California penal codes section 25850 (Article 2, Crime of Carrying a Loaded Firearm in Public) and section 171c.
CA Bill AB 295 (1999)
after being approved by the Governor in August of 1999, California passed AB 295 (Corbett), the Gun Show Enforcement and Security Act which created more rules for the transfer of firearms at gun shows. the bill was written by California Assembly members Corbett and Wright.
among many other additions, the law created new certification and insurance requirements for show promoters, as well as new fees and penalties for failures to comply. transactions at gun shows are required to be completed through a licensed dealer, requiring a background check and mandatory ten-day waiting period for the firearm's delivery to buyer.
SB 23 (2000)
California Senate Bill 23 was enacted in 2000, allowing for new definitions for the hot-button term assault weapon so it would include several types of semiautomatic centerfire rifles, semiautomatic pistols, semiautomatic shotguns and shotguns with revolving cylinders.
SB 23 is currently enforced as California Penal Code sections 16200, 16350, 16890, 20620, 30515, 30520, and 32310.
AB 500 (2013)
another major law that affects the current process of purchasing a firearm in the state is California Assembly Bill 500, proposed by Tom Ammiano, which added that the ten-day waiting period between the sale of a firearm and its delivery to the buyer may be extended an additional 30 days if the DOJ needs additional time to gather information relevant to the buyer's background check.
in addition, AB 500 required any gun owner residing with an individual who prohibited from owning firearms by state or federal law to keep the firearm within a locked container, locked gun safe, locked trunk, locked with a locking device, or disabled by a firearm safety device; or else carry the firearm on his or her person at all times.
conclusion
the California we know today was created by the use of gun violence on indigenous peoples. so although California is credited with being a leader in gun safety legislature, it is not a state without a history of gun violence. and of course today Californians are still subject to incidents of gun violence.
during the late 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, California passed an increasing number of state laws in an attempt to increase gun safety. there are many, many California laws pertaining to gun commerce and use that are not listed here in this post. the ATF and Giffords Law Center both provide a much more in-depth and extensive inventory of California gun laws (see bullets 1 and 2 under "sources for further information" below).
with increasing incidents of mass shootings in public spaces in California, it is likely the state will see new gun law proposals in the very near future.
additional resources: