In 2019, for gun violence survivor and a Santa clarita high school senior–Mia Tretta, it was losing a best friend to the ghost gun of a 16-year-old student they did not know.
“On that Thursday I got to school like it was any other day–meeting up with my friends, including my best friend, Dominic, Mia Tretta, Gun Violence Survivor and Students Demand Action Volunteer. Like most other plans, we had big plans for our futures. But within seconds, our plans were changed with the sound of a gunshot.”
Shootings across the nation–senselessly taking away friends, children, and siblings.
Mass shootings continue to take innocent lives. according to the gun violence archive–the United states experiencing 357 mass shootings, so far this year. That's compared to a total of 611 in 2021.
“It’s what will happen on the local level that will determine our future, as it relates to gun safety. And that's why California is asserting itself at this level,” Governor Gavin Newsom said.
Those nationwide mass shootings led California lawmakers to pass more landmark gun laws.
The Giffords Law Center ranked California the state with the strongest gun laws in 2021. the center says those laws correlate with less gun violence. now, a first-of its kind law is using the attributes of Texas Abortion Law, holding providers, in this case providers of guns, legally accountable.
According to the Giffords Law Center California's gun laws correlate with a 37 percent lower gun-related death rate in 2021 than the national average.
Even with a lower death rate than the national average–the Giffords Law Center still finds that California has about 9 gun deaths per 100 thousand people,compared to about 3 per 100 thousand–in hawaii. Hawaii ranked as the safest state, in terms of gun violence.
State lawmakers, now passing a few more restrictions, with the hopes of making California a safer place to live.
much how texans can sue those who provide abortions -- against that state's law --this means that californians can sue those making, selling transporting and distributing illegal assault weapons and ghost guns for damages– of at least 10-thousand dollars
“To call out those that are providing long arms and guns legally to people below the age of 21 and get these guns off the streets, by allowing 40 million of you, to be enforcers, by allowing 40 milion Californians to enforce the law of the state of California,” Governor Newsom said.
Assembly Bill 1594 and Asembly Bill 2571 are a couple other bills chaptered recently. The first–would require the firearm industry to make sure they don’t provide a fire-arm related product ---to a downstream distributor or retailer exercising “unfair methods of competition, deceptive acts or practices, and false advertising. the law will take effect— next July.
The latter law, will make it illegal for a member of the firearm industry – to intentionally or seemingly market a firearm product of any kind, to minors. The bill will also keep them from “using, disclosing or compiling” a minor’s information for marketing or advertising purposes. the penalty could be up to 25 thousand dollars.
“We set the tone and the tenure for the gun safety debate in this country. We always have. It goes back in modern terms, as far as 1967. Both democrats and republicans have asserted themselves,” Governor Newsom said. “Standing firm and standing tall,saying we’re going to do more than just identify a problem and reflect on how vexing and frustrating it is to solve. We’re not waiting for others to take action.”
