Thoughts on California AB 1237
When it comes to the State of California, we
know that there are plenty of things that they have done in defiance of the
Second Amendment. We can go on and on about ammunition background checks,
firearms bans, specific handguns that the citizens are allowed to own, etc. The
list goes on forever. So, when it comes to California and states like
California, we shouldn’t be too surprised when they come out with something new
regarding bills that would just chip away at American gun rights, correct?
Doing some reading on “Pro-2A” news outlets, I had discovered something that I
find to be extremely concerning as an American who freely exercises their right
to bear arms as protected under the Second Amendment.
California Assembly Bill (AB 1237) has been
introduced into the California Assembly, and this is something that isn’t
surprising and should throw up flags to firearms owners within the Golden State.
Introduced by Assembly member Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), it would provide a
base for firearm research named the “California Firearm Violence Research
Center at UC Davis.” The introduced bill
would require information such as “Criminal history, a database of gun violence
restraining orders, and a database of firearm precursor parts purchases” to be
stored. Along with these examples, there is a call for ammunition purchase information
to be included in the database as well.
Looking further into
this bill, I have read that the confidential information of law-abiding
citizens would be made available not only to the newly organized firearm research
center but the information would be made available to any “nonprofit bonafide
research institution or public agency concerned with the study and prevention
of violence, for academic and policy research purposes.” This sharing of
information brings about a cause for concern regarding citizens who legally buy
their ammunition and go through the proper channels on how to obtain ammo.
Given that this is used for research purposes on “gun violence,” why does the private
information of law-abiding citizens get to be shared with “research
organizations?”
Having found this
proposed bill through internet searches, I believe that this could potentially
cause concern not only for law-abiding citizens within the State of California
but throughout the rest of the country as other states could adopt this
proposed bill as their own. I will continue to keep a close eye on this bill,
reach out to individuals who oppose this bill, and collect more information and
their stance on this proposed law.
https://openstates.org/ca/bills/20212022/AB1237/
