California Governor Gavin Newsom signed several gun control measures into law on Tuesday, including a bill tightening the state’s concealed carry rules and another bill imposing a new tax on firearms.

S

and ammunition sales.

At a signing ceremony in Sacramento alongside lawmakers and gun control advocates, Newsom said California would push back on legal efforts to dismantle its gun laws and maintain its position as a national leader on gun control, but called for greater federal action . “We have a responsibility to do more and continue to lead that conversation,” Newsom said. “I think we need to shout louder about this.” “I’m celebrating because I’m proud that we were able to sign these bills into law,” Newsom added, “but it’s going to take a national construct, a national framework to ultimately address this.” The laws build on Newsom’s resolution that the Legislature passed earlier this month calling for a

constitutional convention of the states to consider a new amendment on gun control

. California lawmakers agree to Newsom’s call for a US constitutional treaty on gun control

California already has some of the strictest gun restrictions in the country and receives high marks every year from gun control organizations such as the Giffords Law Center. Still, guns have contributed to a rise in violent crime rates in California in recent years, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California.

So hanging on the celebration were the

two mass shootings early this year in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay that left eighteen people dead and increased pressure for additional legislation to regulate firearms.

Of the

more than 20

bills that Newsom signed, two stood out as particularly important.

Senate Bill 2 is California’s response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn case. vs. Bruen last year, when the 6-3 conservative-majority justices struck down restrictive concealed carry laws as unconstitutional.

The decision forced Newsom, Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-Burbank)

,

to write legislation that would eliminate California’s more subjective law

allowing local authorities to decide who could get a concealed carry permit and replacing it with a policy that largely guarantees a permit once application criteria are met.

California Legislature passes concealed carry limits, averting a potential Supreme Court battle

Despite the changes, the new law still severely limits who can get a permit to carry a concealed firearm, and is already facing a legal challenge from gun rights advocates.

More than twenty “sensitive places” are described that are off-limits to firearms, such as children

–

healthcare centers and schools, public transport, banks, museums, zoos, medical facilities, parks, playgrounds and bars.

among several others.

The bill also includes a controversial provision that would automatically make commercial businesses gun-free zones unless the owner explicitly says otherwise.

Licensing authorities, viz

Sheriff’s of the sheriff’s

departments, will now have to conduct in-person interviews with applicants, obtain character references and review publicly available statements

search for if

social media posts to determine whether someone poses a risk to public safety and is therefore a “disqualified” person. The law also tightens training and safe storage rules and requires concealed carry applicants to be 21 years old, the same age required in California to purchase a handgun.

“Raising the minimum age for carrying concealed firearms and creating restrictions for sensitive places will ensure our communities and families are better protected from gun violence in public locations,” said Kris Brown, president of Brady: United Against Gun Violence , in a statement. “This is all the more important after last year’s disastrous Supreme Court decision in Bruen.”

California lawmakers modeled SB 2 after a similar New York law that has been mired in legal challenges

will probably end up back in the Supreme Court.

California Democrats approve new taxes on gun and ammunition dealers and manufacturers

Hours after the state legislature passed SB 2, gun rights groups preemptively filed a lawsuit to block its implementation, arguing that it still contained subjective licensing criteria that conflicted with the Bruen decision and that the number of sensitive sites on the list is unconstitutional.

“SB 2 creates a patchwork of locations where Second Amendment rights can and cannot be exercised, making the exercise of the right in practice so impractical and legally risky as to deter ordinary citizens from even attempting to exercise their rights practice,” the legal filing claims.

Speaking at the signing event in Sacramento, Bonta shrugged off these arguments, saying SB 2 is “Bruen-compliant” and “follows the blueprint” of the decision. Portantino also said California could make a “compelling argument” in defense of any banned place on the list. “It’s a responsibility,” Portantino said. “So I have no problem telling that community that believes in having a concealed weapons permit that they need to do a little bit of work” to determine where they can carry their concealed weapons.

The second major proposal Newsom signed is Assembly Bill 28, a landmark piece of legislation

by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino)

that will impose an 11% tax on dealers and manufacturers for the sale of guns and ammunition. The new law is expected to provide more than $160 million annually for violence prevention, school safety programs and victim services.

Opponents of AB 28 expanded beyond the

Second 2nd

Amendment organizations that typically challenge California’s gun laws also include wildlife, conservation and hunting groups concerned that legal gun owners would bear the tax burden. They argued that hunting and shooting sports would become unaffordable for low-income communities and that the new law would

old

discourage outdoor recreation.

“AB 28 would unjustifiably place the entire burden of funding efforts to address illegal gun violence on the backs of law-abiding citizens who legally purchase and legally use firearms and ammunition,” the California Rifle & Pistol Assn. wrote in opposition to the bill.

Newsom has previously said yes

this is not

Interested in new taxes, supporters of AB 28 had braced for a veto.

But a coalition of more than a hundred gun safety groups has lobbied Newsom’s office in recent weeks to sign the bill into law. In one letter, AB 28 argued that AB 28 would help “cement” his legacy as a “national champion in this field,” while at the same time highlighting how the money

would would

are used to support some of the most effective violence prevention programs in California.

Newsom said he saw the new gun tax through a different lens than a general income tax, and that the money would be used for important services and programs. “I think this is a pretty modest investment in prevention,” he said. The California bill would ban game-like events such as raffles and raffles at gun stores

“This historic legislation will provide permanent funding to these programs and ensure California remains an undisputed leader in the fight for gun safety, paving the way for innovative, effective methods to reduce gun violence,” said Paul Carrillo, vice president of the Giffords. Center for Violence Intervention, said

in a statement. “This law will save many, many lives for years to come and provide a sustainable funding stream for proven programs to prevent community violence.”

The new tax law will come into effect

effective July 1, 2024.

Other bills Newsom signed will:

Restrict firearms dealers from hosting certain gaming-style promotional events, such as raffles and sweepstakes, and create the ability for gun owners in mental health crisis to store their guns with dealers. Ban licensed firearms dealers from selling semiautomatic handguns without micro-stamp verification, beginning in 2028. Ban certain people awaiting mental health proceedings from owning a firearm until they complete the program. From July 2026, firearm frames, receivers and precursor parts must be redefined as ‘firearms’ when reported as lost or stolen. Reduce the time a person convicted of a crime has to surrender their firearm. Ban anyone from purchasing or owning body armor, often used by mass shooters, if they are also banned from owning guns. Crack down on non-serialized firearms, or so-called ghost weapons, and the 3D printers that create them.