For all the leading attempts in California to regulate firearms, the state has not found a way to deter those who are happy to evade the law with “ghost” weapons stolen or made at home and increasingly common.
In just two recent examples, police say the first weapon was recovered after the gunmen killed six people i wounded 12 in downtown Sacramento early Sunday he had been robbed. The homemade assault weapon that a father used a month and a few miles away to kill his three daughters, his companion and then himself did not register.
“People are arguing that we have the toughest gun laws in the country. But they’re clearly not tough enough,” Democratic Sen. Robert Hertzberg said Monday.
The latest mass shooting in a nightclub area on some islands in the State Capitol renewed President Joe Biden’s calls to tighten gun laws. Biden convened the Congress take many of the nationwide measures that California already has in place: imposing background checks, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and banning ghost weapons.
The most populous state will consider a new innovative approach on Tuesday when Hertzberg, at the urging of Governor Gavin Newsom, hopes to take the first step in advancing a bill that will allow private citizens to sue anyone who distributes illegal assault weapons. pieces that can be used. to build weapons, pistols without serial numbers or .50 caliber rifles.
Penalty: At least $ 10,000 in civil damages for each weapon, plus attorneys’ fees.
But the bill would not prohibit anyone from possessing or using weapons, even though they are illegal under other laws. And it would not include stolen weapons unless they are made illegal otherwise, for example, by filing the serial number.
“We hope it has a creepy effect on people with ghost guns or assault weapons,” Hertzberg said. “You have to have millions of eyes looking for these weapons. If anyone talks about them, all of a sudden there’s an incentive among the public in a way that has never been done before to try to get them off the street.”
However, Hertzberg’s bill is modeled after a similar one Texas law allow citizens to prosecute those who offer or help have abortions. And even if it becomes law, Hertzberg’s bill will be automatically invalidated if it is Texas law. it was finally declared unconstitutional.
“This is a political game, which is the worst reason to pass some kind of bill,” said Chuck Michel, president of the California Rifle and Pistol Association, and a lawyer who wrote a book on complicated laws. of California Guns. “You’re going to replace a group of amateurs (not lawyers, not cops) to judge a neighbor’s actions and then give them the right to be dragged to court.”
Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which generally favors restrictions on firearms, has not taken a position on the bill.
The center’s director of state policy, Attorney Ari Freilich, said he “would essentially provide more oversight of the enforcement of some specific criminal laws in California.”
“It’s not something that has really been tried before,” Freilich said.
He would not predict if it would be effective, but said the proposal has some “potential challenges”. These include the promotion of civil actions to punish crimes and the establishment of a “reward” for collecting those who have not been directly harmed.
His organization is supporting other bills, including one that would make it easier for people to sue arms companies for liability in shootings that cause injuries or deaths. Two other bills are also aimed at parts of firearms and pistols without serial numbers, and those made with 3D printers.
Legislative analysts also raised concerns, including the fact that the California bill could be seen as a legitimation of the Texas approach.
Like Texas law, analysts said Hertzberg’s legislation is so broadly written that it could catch, for example, “a taxi driver carrying a person to an armory,” although Hertzberg said it is not. the intention.
The parts used to make weapons are not themselves illegal, but a California law that will go into effect on July 1 will require that they be sold only through licensed firearms dealers.
Sen. Tom Umberg, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a Democrat like Hertzberg and Newsom, said he hoped Hertzberg’s bill would clarify his committee “in order to continue the conversation about the absurdity of Texas law. “.
Umberg said he supported Hertzberg’s goal, but acknowledged that “the enforcement mechanism is challenging.”
The bill would then have to clarify two other committees before getting a full Senate vote. He should also pass the Assembly before going to Newsom.
Hertzberg said he believes his bill could also help eliminate dangers domestic abusers like David Mora. Investigators say Mora used a semi-automatic rifle-style homemade weapon with an illegal 30-cartridge ammunition magazine to kill her daughters at a Sacramento church on Feb. 28 despite a restraining order. it was forbidden to have weapons.
“I think this will have bigger teeth, sharper teeth than a court order,” Hertzberg said. “This goes into someone’s bank account. You win this case, you take over the bank account. Your world changes.”
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