For all of California’s nation-led efforts to control firearms, the state has not found a way to deter people who are happy to steal or skirt the law with home-made and increasingly conventional “ghost” guns.
In just two recent instances, police say they recovered the first weapon after the gunmen Killed six And Injured 12 The burglary took place early Sunday morning in downtown Sacramento. The home-made assault weapon was used by a father a month ago and a few miles away to kill his three daughters, their chaperone and then himself unregistered.
“People are arguing that we have the toughest gun laws in the country. But they are clearly not tough enough, “said Democratic State Sen. Robert Hertzberg on Monday.
The latest mass shooting in a nightclub area on the block from the State Capitol has prompted renewed calls from President Joe Biden for stricter firearms laws. Biden The call of Congress California already has a number of steps to take across the country – imposing background checks, banning assault weapons and high-powered magazines, and banning ghost guns.
The most populous state will consider an innovative new approach on Tuesday when, at the request of Governor Gavin News, Hertzburg expects to take the first steps to pass a bill allowing private citizens to sue anyone who distributes illegal weapons, parts that can be used. . To make weapons, guns without serial numbers, or .50 caliber rifles.
Fines: At least $ 10,000 civilian damages for each weapon, and attorney fees.
The bill, however, will not bar anyone from possessing or using weapons, even though they are illegal under other laws. And it will not include stolen weapons unless they are otherwise invalidated, for example by filing a serial number.
“Hopefully it will have a cooling effect on people with ghost guns or assault weapons,” Hertzberg said. “You have millions of eyeballs looking for this gun. If someone flashes, talks about it, it suddenly creates excitement in the public in a way that has never been attempted before. “
Yet, Hertzberg’s bill is similar Texas law Allows citizens to follow those who provide abortion or assistance. And even if it becomes law, the Hertzburg bill would automatically be repealed if the Texas law Finally ruled unconstitutional.
“It’s a tit for political gamesmanship, the worst reason to pass a bill,” said an attorney who is the president of the California Rifle and Pistol Association and wrote a book about California’s complex gun laws. “You’re going to hire a bunch of amateurs – non-lawyers, non-police – to judge the neighbors’ actions and then bring them to justice.”
The Giffords Law Center for the Prevention of Gun Violence, which is generally in favor of a firearms ban, took no position on the bill.
The Centre’s director of state policy, Attorney Arie Freilich, said it would “certainly bring more enforcement surveillance to certain criminal laws in California.”
“It’s not something that has really been tried before,” Frellich said.
He did not predict whether it would work, but said there were “potential challenges” to the proposal. Encourage civic action to punish them for crime and establish a “grant” to be collected by those who have not been directly harmed.
His agency is backing other bills, one that makes it easier for people to sue gun companies against gun companies that cause injury or death. The other two bills aim at firearms and guns without serial numbers and are made with 3D printers.
Legal analysts have also expressed concern, including that the California bill could be seen as a legitimacy of the Texas approach.
Much like Texas law, analysts say Hertzberg’s law is so detailed that it can trap, for example, “a taxi driver who takes a person to a gun store,” although Hertzberg said it was not intended.
The parts used to make the weapons are not illegal in themselves, but a California law that will take effect July 1 will only require the sale of licensed firearms dealers.
Sen. Tom Umberg, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a Democrat like Hertzberg and Newsom, said he hoped Hertzberg’s bill would clear his committee of “continuing to negotiate the absurdity of Texas law.”
Umberg said he supported Hertzberg’s goal, although he acknowledged that “the implementation system is sensitive to challenges.”
The bill would have to be cleared by two other committees before a full Senate vote could be reached. It has to be passed in the assembly before going to the news.
Hertzberg said he thinks his bill could also help make the route dangerous Domestic oppressors like David Mora. Investigators say Mora used a home-made semi-automatic rifle-style weapon, including an illegal 30-round ammunition magazine, to kill his daughters at Sacramento Church on Feb. 28, despite orders to keep the weapon.
“I think it will have bigger teeth, sharper teeth than the court order,” Hertzberg said. “It goes into someone’s bank account. If you win this case, you seize their bank account. Their world changes. “
