On May 12^th, the Assembly Appropriations Committee will hear Assembly Bills 1223, 1237, and 1509. Please contact committee members and ask them to OPPOSE these anti-gun bills.

Assembly Bill 1223 places an excise tax of 10% on the sales price of a handgun, and places an 11% excise tax on the sales price on all long guns, rifles, firearm precursor parts and ammunition to fund grants awarded through the Cal VIP program. The taxes are to be collected from California retailers on new firearms sold, and on their retail sales of ammunition. It is unjust to saddle law-abiding gun owners with special taxes to fund social service programs. Such a measure makes it more expensive for law-abiding citizens to exercise a constitutional right, and discourages them from practicing to be safe and proficient with their firearms for purposes such as self-defense, competition, and hunting.

Assembly Bill 1237 mandates that the California Department of Justice (DOJ) supply state information, including personal identifying information, to the UC Gun Violence Research Center at UC Davis, and allows the DOJ to provide this same information to certain non-profits and state agencies. This legislation creates grave privacy concerns, as well as concerns that this information could be provided to groups that create biased “research” to push gun control policies without actually researching root causes of violence.

Assembly Bill 1509 reduces the penalties and sentencing enhancements for criminal misuse of firearms. Such an effort shows just how disingenuous Californian legislators are about stopping “gun violence.” The legislators who oppose holding criminals accountable for their actions are the same ones who continue to harass law-abiding gun owners.

Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee sent Senate Bills 264 and 715 to the suspense file.

Senate Bill 264 bans state officers, employees, operators, lessees or licensees from entering into any agreement to allow for the sale of any firearm, firearm parts, or ammunition on property that is owned, leased, occupied or operated by the state. This imposes a one-size-fits-all restriction to prevent officials from deciding how to use venues. In addition, this prevents tax-paying businesses from renting taxpayer-funded venues for lawful activities. SB 264 was previously pulled from the Senate Governance and Finance Committee and sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Senate Bill 715 limits when a hunting license satisfies the requirements for adults under 21 purchasing a long gun by requiring the license to be currently valid. This means an individual who has purchased a license for an upcoming season will not satisfy the requirements of the bill. Additionally, SB 715 makes changes to the restrictions on gifts and loans of long-guns to minors in a way that is confusing for well-intentioned individuals trying to understand what is permitted and required.

Please continue to check your inbox and www.nraila.org for updates concerning your Second Amendment Rights and hunting heritage.