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California Gun Laws Ranked Strongest In The Country

Gun laws in California were ranked the strongest in the country in a recent report based on gun safety legislation, including a bill by Sen. Henry Stern, D-Santa Clarita, to stop juvenile felons from owning guns later in life.


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On Friday, Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence released the latest edition of its annual gun law scorecard, which grades and ranks each state on the strength of its gun laws.

California received an “A” grade, the highest score of any state, according to the scorecard.

California’s rank is due to the state’s continued emphasis on background checks, prohibiting access to guns by hate crime offenders and funding urban gun violence reduction programs, according to officials.

“Every day in our country, nearly 100 Americans die from gun violence,” said Robyn Thomas, executive director of Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. “Year after year, our research shows that states that get serious about passing stronger gun violence prevention laws have a much better chance of reducing the number of deaths linked to firearms.”

The report was released less than a month after Sen. Henry Stern introduced a “Juvenile Gun Safety Act” to the California state senate.

Related: Senator Henry Stern Introduces Juvenile Gun Safety Act

The bill would close a loophole in California law that allows individuals who have committed violent offenses as minors to escape prosecution for illegally owning or possessing a firearm in violation of the law, according to officials.

“Recordkeeping saves lives,” said Stern. “People with violent criminal records should not be able to own or possess guns. We need to close the gaps in our background check systems so that, at a bare minimum, minors who commit serious crimes cannot turn around and possess guns once they successfully complete probation.”

Under current state law, felons are prohibited from owning or possessing firearms. Juvenile offenders, however, can petition to have their records sealed once they successfully complete probation, meaning they can purchase a firearm later in life.

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California Gun Laws Ranked Strongest In The Country

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About Michael Brown

Michael Brown has lived in Santa Clarita his whole life. Graduating from Saugus High School in 2016, he continued to stay local by attending The Master’s University, where he achieved a Bachelor's Degree in Communication. Michael joined KHTS in January of 2018 as a news intern, and has since gone on to become the News Director for the KHTS Newsroom. Since joining KHTS, Michael has covered many breaking news stories (both on scene and on air), interviewed dozens of prominent state and federal political figures, and interacted with hundreds of residents from Santa Clarita. When he is not working, Michael enjoys spending time with his family, as well as reading any comic book he can get his hands on.