Gov. Gavin Newsom signs new gun safety laws targeting illegal weapons, marketing to kids

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law two California bills to further restrict ghost guns in the state and prohibit the marketing of certain guns, such as semiautomatic weapons, to children.

“From our schools to our parks to our homes, our kids deserve to be safe – in California, we’re making that a reality,” Newsom said Friday in a news release.

“As the Supreme Court rolls back important gun safety protections and states across the country treat gun violence as inevitable, California is doubling down on commonsense gun safety measures that save lives.”

The governor is referring to the June 23 U.S. Supreme Court gun ruling striking down a New York state statute that are likely to imperil similar laws in California to regulate concealed carry weapons. Experts predict new legal challenges to the California law that requires residents to give strong reasons to local law enforcement officials why they need to carry a gun in public.

Newsom’s office on Friday said the newly signed California laws directly target the gun lobby and manufacturers “that are preying on our children.”

“The lives of our kids are at stake and we’re putting everything on the table to respond to this crisis,” Newsom said in the news release.

The governor signed Assembly Bill 1621 to further restrict privately manufactured firearms, commonly known as ghost guns, in California. The firearms are intentionally made untraceable, along with the parts used to build them.

“Alarmingly, we are finding that more and more, no region or demographic is exempt from gun violence

– our hospitals, grocery stores, schools, and even places of worship, are no

“The proliferation of ghost guns, which are intentionally untraceable weapons to evade law enforcement, has only worsened the issue.”

Newsom also signed Assembly Bill 2571, which prohibits marketing of certain categories of firearms to minors, such as advertising of a JR-15, which is an AR-15 meant for kids, adorned with cartoon child skulls with pacifiers, according to the Governor’s Office.

“Guns are not toys – they are deadly weapons,” Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-kahan, D-orinda, said in the news release. “California has some of the strongest gun laws in the country and it is unconscionable that we still allow advertising weapons of war to our children. Our kids have a right to live long, happy lives, free of gun violence.”