In conclusion
Just now, Governor Gavin Newsom received his first firearm. Selling brand-new Glocks like Kamala Harris’s would be prohibited by a measure that is currently pending in California. Is he going to sign it?
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The sale of one of the most common handguns, such as the one possessed by Kamala Harris, perhaps the most well-known Democrat in California, is about to be prohibited by the Democrats in control of the state legislature.
Assembly Bill 1127 seeks to ban gun stores from carrying new Glock handguns and other off-brand replicas since a criminal might make the weapons completely automatic by adding a converter, also called a Glock switch. A 3D printer can be used to make the switches illegally.
Proponents claim that the bill solely targets a specific class of firearms that are being used more frequently in violent crimes. However, detractors contend that the plan paves the way for more extensive limitations on all semi-automatic firearms. They claim that this might include other well-liked models, such as the one that Governor Gavin Newsom just received as a gift from a conservative podcaster. Newsom has not said if he will sign the bill.
Each round of a semi-automatic pistol must be fired by the shooter pulling the trigger. Machine guns, often known as fully automatic weapons, will continue to fire as long as the trigger is pushed. State and federal regulations currently prohibit the use of automatic guns by anybody other than those with a specific permit.
Several high-profile shootings have involved illegally modified, fully automatic Glock-style weapons, including as the 2022 gang gunfight outside a Sacramento nightclub a few steps from the Capitol. Six individuals were killed and twelve others were injured in the shooting.
However, Glocks are also among the most widely purchased pistols in California. According to proponents of gun rights, just a small percentage of the more than a million firearms currently in use in California have been unlawfully altered. Harris’ admission to 60 Minutes last year that she possessed a Glock and had fired it serves as an illustration of how well-liked Glocks are. Requests for interviews and inquiries regarding whether Harris still possesses the firearm were not answered by a Harris representative.
Harris and other Glock owners would not be prevented from keeping their firearms by the proposed legislation. In private-party transactions, they might even sell used ones to other people. Californians just were unable to purchase a new one. Since gun makers and authorities do not publicly provide statewide sales figures, it is unknown how many Glocks are sold in California annually.
In California, police officers are allowed to carry Glocks, but they are not subject to the restrictions.
What about Gavin Newsom s new gun?
Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat from the Encino region and the measure’s principal sponsor, told the Senate Judiciary Committee this month that gun manufacturers might alter their weapons to make them more difficult to convert to machine guns if they disagreed with the ban.
According to him, the majority of handgun designs do not have this problem, and the regulation is only targeted at a small number of designs that are incredibly simple to alter. Unfortunately, certain gun industry players have been aware of this problem for decades and have chosen to take no significant action to solve it.
Find out more about the lawmakers this story mentions.
Gabriel Jesse
State Assembly, District 46 (Encino), Democrat
Glock has already altered new models to be incompatible with the switches, according to gun rights supporters, but the California Department of Justice hasn’t added those firearms to its list of legal handguns in the state.
California would be the first state to outlaw Glock changes, while more than two dozen states have already done so.The New York Senate has not moved on a similar bill that was proposed there.
With only Republicans voting against it, the California bill, which includes 12 Democratic co-authors and co-sponsors, has already cleared the Assembly. It is set to accomplish the same in the Senate, setting it up for delivery to the desk of Newsom, the state’s newest prominent firearm owner, next month.
Shawn Ryan, a Republican podcaster, gifted Newsom a Sig Sauer P365-Xmacro handgun this month while they were in Tennessee recording an hour-long podcast.
The firearm would not be covered by AB 1127’s rules. The mechanisms of the firearm differ from those of a Glock, and switches built for Glocks are inoperable.However, the executive director of Gun Owners of California, an organization that is against the measure, Sam Paredes, stated that it is feasible that someone will eventually create an illegal converter for Newsom’s firearm. Additionally, if someone wishes to run the danger of being charged with a felony, many semi-automatic pistols may be converted to fully automatic with the correct equipment and knowledge.
“If Newsom signs Gabriel’s bill into law, it will be up to the office of Attorney General Rob Bonta to decide what handguns to ban for sale in California,” he stated. Bonta is in favor of the plan. In a letter supporting the bill, Bonta stated that California has one of the lowest rates of firearm deaths in the country because of our strict, commonsense gun safety legislation. However, his office did not respond to a message.According to Bonta, these laws are successful and save lives. In order to prevent automatic weapons from being used on our streets, it is essential to prohibit this fatal design fault.
Gun advocates don t like Newsom
When asked if he would sign the bill banning new Glocks, Newsom’s press office responded that they typically don’t comment on legislation that is still in the works.
Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for Newsom, stated that the governor left the gun in Shawn’s custody in Tennessee. When that process is over, he will take control of it. He is currently trying to make sure it is transferred correctly in compliance with California law.
The San Francisco Standard reports that it would be the first firearm registered in Newsom’s name.
Newsom would need to send the Sig Sauer from a Tennessee gun store to a California-licensed guns dealer in order to lawfully keep it.
A background check, fingerprints, a handgun safety test, affidavits, a driver’s license, and documentation with his identity and residence, including a recent utility bill, would all need to be completed by Newsom after the gun arrived. There would be a 10-day waiting period for him. According to Paredes, Newsom would also be responsible for paying about $300 in taxes and fees on the $700 firearm.
Since gun owners must come in person to complete the paperwork, he would have to handle everything himself.
Paredes stated that if Newsom makes the transfer at any gun store in California, he shouldn’t expect a pleasant reception. One of the strongest supporters of gun ownership limits in the country, Newsom has supported some of the regulations that make it difficult and expensive for him to obtain his rifle and any ammo he would like to shoot.
The day he enters to do that, I’ll wager that 10,000 people will be demonstrating at that gun store, Paredes added.
Newsom assured the podcaster that he is not anti-gun even though he still supports gun laws that he claims have made the state safer when Ryan handed him the Sig Sauer.
He told The San Francisco Standard, “The last thing people would expect is that I respect this gift.”
At least one employee of the gun store doesn’t believe it.
Cassidy Maznio, assistant manager at Sacramento Black Rifle, a firearms dealer, said Newsom is welcome to come to the shop to process his gun transaction.
Obviously, we d talk trash to him the whole time, Maznio said.
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