California Guns
BY BEN CHRISTOPHER, CalMatters
The modern American gun debate began in 1967, when 30 protesting members of the Black Panther Party marched into the California Capitol with loaded handguns, shotguns and rifles. In California there were few restrictions on carrying loaded weapons in public.
Soon a bill to ban “open carry” of loaded firearms within cities and towns sailed through and was signed by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan. It’s hard to say which now seems more unlikely: that two dozen revolutionaries could legally stroll into the state Assembly chamber with semi-automatic rifles, or that a Republican governor would champion stricter gun control.
In the years since, California’s progressive politicians have layered on restrictions while gun owners and manufacturers keep pushing back, particularly in the judiciary. The US Supreme Court has been particularly receptive: In 2022, a majority of the justices threw the future of many of California’s strictest gun laws into question. The trend seemed to be fulfilling the prophecy of a National Rifle Association spokesperson that the Trump-altered Supreme Court meant “winter may very well be coming for gun laws in California.”
Today California and 10 other states ban most semi-automatic rifles, including certain versions of most popular in America, the AR-15 — the gun used in the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, who has supported keeping such guns legal. In July of 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge that contended an Illinois ban on rapid-fire guns violates the Second Amendment. That ensured California’s prohibition could continue, for now — although critics say such guns can be, and still are, purchased here with a few modifications.
On the premise that the best defense is a good offense, Gov. Gavin Newsom and his allies in the Legislature in 2023 introduced a new, long-shot amendment to the US Constitution that would place age limits, background check requirements and mandatory waiting periods on gun purchasers, and ban the civilian ownership of so-called assault weapons. A year later, not a single state had joined California’s effort.
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