Gun Violence Hits 15-Year High In L.A., Taking Lives And Erasing Hard-Fought Gains

Sean Reynolds almost lost his life over a PlayStation.

The 17-year-old high school senior had arranged to sell his gaming console through the app OfferUp, and agreed to meet the buyer — another teenager — near a public housing complex in Watts. He intended to save the cash he earned for college expenses that fall.

Instead, one of two teens who met Reynolds at his car that hot day in May pulled out a gun and shot him, the bullet ricocheting off his hip and fragmenting through his abdomen. As he lay on the ground bleeding, he said, the second teen urged the first to fire again.

“Finish him off,” he heard the boy say

“I was in shock,” Reynolds, now 18, recalled in a recent interview with The Times. “It was a lot to process.”

Reynolds, who was badly wounded, is among more than 1,400 people who survived shootings in L.A. in 2021 — the second year in a row in which gun violence has increased in the city.

Had things gone differently — and they easily could have, given his extreme injuries — Reynolds would have been among the nearly 400 people killed in L.A. this year, whose deaths mark a more than 50% increase in homicides since 2019.

“We’ve seen all different types of surgeons,” said Qiuana Williams, Reynolds’ mother. “After reading his medical documents, they all look at him like he is a walking miracle.”

Amid a pandemic that has ravaged people’s financial and emotional reserves and undermined long-standing initiatives to stem violence, families like Reynolds’ are persevering through surgeries, physical therapy and the emotional labor of trying to pull their lives back together after being blindsided by bullets.

Other families — more than in any other year in L.A. since 2007 — were forced to plan funerals and process their first holiday season without sons, daughters, brothers and parents, whose lives were snatched away, mostly by gunmen.

Click here click to read the full article at the LA Times

Newsom Seizes on Texas Abortion Law Tactics to Go After Assault Rifles and Ghost Guns

Since the Supreme Court has given Texas the green light for its new legal approach that all but bans abortions, Gov. Gavin Newsom says, California will use the same theory to curtail guns — letting private citizens sue people who sell assault rifles and parts for untraceable “ghost guns.”

“SCOTUS is letting private citizens in Texas sue to stop abortion?!,” Newsom tweeted Saturday. “If that’s the precedent then we’ll let Californians sue those who put ghost guns and assault weapons on our streets.”

State officials will try to craft a measure that would allow residents to seek damages of at least $10,000, plus legal fees, against anyone who manufactures, distributes or sells an assault weapon or ghost gun kit in California.

“If states can now shield their laws from review by the federal courts that compare assault weapons to Swiss Army knives,” Newsom said in a news release late Saturday, “then California will use that authority to protect people’s lives, where Texas used it to put women in harm’s way.”

In seizing on Texas’s successful approach, Newsom’s plan is likely to attract controversy along the lines of what embroiled lawmakers there after they banned all abortions after a heartbeat is detected, usually around six weeks into a pregnancy. The new law, which is already spurring droves of women to seek abortion access in California and other states, is unique in relying on enabling private citizens to sue abortion providers for the same amount Newsom is proposing in his new gun measure, $10,000.

President Biden criticized that citizen litigation path as the “most pernicious” aspect of the Texas abortion law because, he said, it creates “a sort of vigilante system” by encouraging the public to police the issue.

Newsom’s office billed his gun announcement as a direct response to Friday’s Supreme Court decision that largely allowed the Texas abortion measure to stand.

Jessica Levinson, a Supreme Court expert who teaches constitutional law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, told The Chronicle that Newsom is hoping again to be a “quarter step ahead of public opinion and one step ahead of where he can go legally,” as he was in his support of same-sex marriage and legalization of marijuana.

“He is proposing to use a mechanism that he and many others have vilified. But I think it’s quite smart, right? I think it’s a big ‘F— you’ to the Supreme Court,” Levinson said. “If you’re going to allow unconstitutional laws — or I should say in this case, constitutionally questionable laws — that are insulated from judicial review, then we’re going to use that to our advantage.”

Newsom gave few details about his plan. Its prospects in the Legislature were not clear.

Assembly Member Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, said Sunday that he has been working with the nonprofit Brady Campaign,which advocates for gun control, on similar legislation that he plans to introduce when the Legislature reconvenes in January.

Ting called it “a very simple issue”: The gun industry “needs to be held liable” for the use of firearms to commit crimes, or gun-related “incidents that result in injury or death.” Almost every other industry in this country is held liable for what their products do,” he said.

Ting said he “fully supports the governor’s statement,” on guns and hopes the Legislature’s Democratic supermajority will get the proposal passed.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, said Sunday that it’s too soon to say what lawmakers will do, but noted that the supermajority has passed “very, very strong gun safety measures.” The governor and Legislature agree that “we’ll do whatever we can to drain the gun swamp, to reduce the number of guns in our society, particularly assault weapons,” he said in a phone interview.

Click here to read the full article at the San Francisco Chronicle

Crooks Steal 40 Firearms From Gun Shop As California Crime Wave Continues To Surge

Crooks made off with nearly 40 firearms during a smash-and-grab burglary at a California gun shop early Thursday morning, a report said.

The suspects shattered the front door glass at Whitten Sales just after midnight and stole the guns that were kept in a safe at the store, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing Garden Grove Police Lt. Mario Martinez.

The owner of the business tipped off police to the burglar after seeing a suspect on surveillance footage, the report said.

By the time police arrived, the thieves were gone. Police said they fled in two BMWs.

The burglar comes amid a rash of smash-and-grab robberies in Southern California that have targeted high-end retailers.

Click here to read the full post at New York Post

Supreme Court Could Legalize Open Carry in California

The Second Amendment “right to keep and bear arms” soon could be restored to California. Time magazine described the issue at hand in hearings before the court at hearings on Nov. 3. The court “majority appeared to question the constitutionality of a century-old provision in New York state that requires people to prove they have a special need for self-protection if they want to carry a concealed handgun outside of their home.”

California imposes similar restrictions on carrying a concealed handgun. If the New York law is ruled unconstitutional, that likely also would blast away California’s similar restrictions. Although the court is unpredictable, so nothing is definite until the final wording is released.

A big problem with such state restrictions on concealed carry is their arbitrary nature toward honest, law-abiding citizens. (Not at issue is whether criminals can carry concealed weapons; bans on that would remain in place.)

In California, county sheriffs decide who can and cannot get a permit. The rules vary greatly. The liberal coastal county sheriffs generally impose tight restrictions, while rural inland sheriffs generally allow anyone who is a law-abiding citizen, and takes a gun safety course, to be granted a permit.

But the restrictions also vary with the sheriff. The late Sandra Hutchens, while sheriff of Orange County from 2008-19, was highly restrictive. But her successor, Don Barnes, ran and won in 2018 on a platform of advancing gun rights. He recently wrote on his personal website, “In my view any law-abiding citizen who seeks a permit has the right to have one issued.” He said that, since he became sheriff, the Orange County Sheriffs’ Department has issued more than 10,000 permits to residents; Orange County’s population is 3.2 million. “Not one person has misused their permit.”

Click here to read the rest of the article at the Epoch Times

California ammo check law blocked 100 sales in first month

California’s new ammunition background check law in its first month stopped more than 100 people from buying bullets illegally, officials said late Monday as they struggled to deter more of the mass shootings that have roiled California and other states over the last week.

“Countless other prohibited persons were likely deterred from even trying to purchase ammunition that they cannot lawfully possess,” Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a court filing. He disclosed the early results in response to a gun owners’ rights group attempt to block the law that took effect July 1.

A federal judge is expected to decide later this month whether to halt the law as a violation of the Second Amendment right to bear arms and other federal laws.

The filing came as Gov. Gavin Newsom said the federal government should follow California’s lead in requiring background checks for ammunition buyers. …

Click here to read the full article from KRCA3 News

San Diego council votes to require gun owners to lock away firearms at home

The San Diego City Council voted 6-2 on Monday in the first of two votes to approve a new gun storage ordinance aimed at preventing accidental shootings and other firearm-related injuries and deaths.

City Attorney Mara Elliott introduced the Safe Storage of Firearms Ordinance last month. It would require all firearms in a residence be stored in a locked container, or disabled by a trigger lock, unless they are being carried by or are under control of the owner.

Monday’s vote was the first of two required for the ordinance to become law, and came after about 90 minutes of public comment, with about two-thirds of those who spoke urging the council to pass the ordinance. Those who opposed the proposed regulations told the council the ordinance infringes on their Second Amendment rights. …

Click here to read the full article from the San Diego Union-Tribune

California’s gun seizure program hits hurdles

Gun seizureAuthorities in California are struggling to enforce a state law that permits officials to seize firearms from people with previous criminal convictions or mental health issues – running into staffing and budgetary issues that have contributed to a massive backlog of guns marked for confiscation.

The law, which was passed in 2013 following the shooting at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook elementary school and set aside $24 million for seizure programs, had a goal of confiscating around 20,000 guns over three years. But six years later, according to a San Francisco Chronicle report, there are still roughly 9,000 of those guns out there, with more being added to the list yearly.

While the state’s new governor, Gavin Newsom, has made gun control a priority of his new administration and has proposed a multi-million-dollar increase to hire more agents, the program reportedly has been hit by retention issues and a lack of experience among new agents. …

Click here to read the full article from Fox News

Will Gavin Newsom be tougher on guns than Jerry Brown?

Gun Open CarryCalifornia Democrats on Monday outlined a plan to enact new forms of gun control, and they’re hoping Gov. Gavin Newsom will sign firearm restrictions that his predecessor vetoed last year.

Standing alongside former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head at a 2011 Tuscon event, Democrats in the Legislature called for more gun restrictions.

So far, they’re proposing Assembly Bill 165, which would provide training to police officers on the use of gun violence restraining orders, and Senate Bill 61, which would limit firearm purchases to one gun per month.

“Stopping gun violence takes courage, the courage to do what’s right, the courage to new ideas,” Giffords said at the news conference. “I’ve seen great courage when lives are on the line. Now is the time to come together, be responsible. Democrats, Republicans, everyone, we must never stop fighting. Fight, fight, fight. Be bold. Be courageous. The nation is counting on you.” …

Click here to read the full article from the Sacramento Bee

Nancy Pelosi to Introduce Bill Criminalizing Private Gun Sales

Photo courtesy shawncalhoun, flickr

Photo courtesy shawncalhoun, flickr

House Democrats plan to introduce a bill criminalizing private gun sales on Tuesday of next week.

The legislation will be introduced by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA), and gun control proponent Gabby Giffords.

Tuesday will be the eighth anniversary of the day on which Giffords was shot by Jared Loughner.

The bill seeks to put background checks in place for all gun sales, requiring a daughter to get a background check before her mother can give her a gun or a son to get a background check before a father can give him one. It would also require a lifelong friend to get a background check before he can a gun from his lifelong friend. …

Click here to read the full article from Breitbart.com

Riverside County Sheriff Sued Over Concealed Weapon Policies

Gun Open CarrySheriff Stan Sniff’s policy on who gets to carry concealed weapons in Riverside County is unconstitutional because it excludes legal U.S. residents, according to a lawsuit filed Oct. 19 in federal court. Sniff denounced the lawsuit, filed by a county resident and five gun rights groups, as politically motivated and designed to help his opponent in the Nov. 6 election.

In his lawsuit, Arie van Nieuwenhuyzen, a legal U.S. resident who was born in The Netherlands, argues his rights were violated last year when the Sheriff’s Department told him he could not apply for a permit because he is not a U.S. citizen. The Riverside resident and business owner said he bought a handgun for self-defense purposes, a need that extends beyond his home.

“Courts across the country have long held that legal United States residents are entitled to the same constitutional protections as everyone else,” the plaintiffs’ attorney, George M. Lee, said in a statement. “Sheriff Sniff’s discriminatory and unconstitutional policies and practices are denying people access to the right to keep and bear arms and violating the Fourteenth Amendment’s command that all people shall enjoy equal protection of our laws.” The other plaintiffs are the Calguns Foundation, the Second Amendment Foundation, the Firearms Policy Coalition, the Firearms Policy Foundation, and the Madison Society Foundation. …

Click here to read the full article from the Riverside Press-Telegram