Senate Bill 948, authored by Democratic Senator Jesse Arreguín of Berkeley, will require every gun owner in California to complete a four-hour safety training course before purchasing a firearm. Starting in 2028, anyone who moves to California with a gun they already own will have 180 days to obtain a firearm safety certificate — or become a criminal in the eyes of the state.
That's one of ten bills Governor Gavin Newsom signed in a single batch on September 26.
Ten. At once. Because apparently the governor woke up that morning, looked at a state that already ranks number one in the nation for gun law strength according to his own press office, and thought: not enough.
The full package reads like a wish list from every Bloomberg-funded advocacy group in America. AB 2047, the Firearm Printing Prevention Act, mandates that consumer 3D printers sold in California include technology to detect and block attempts to print firearm components. SB 1220 imposes a ten-year firearm prohibition on anyone convicted of misdemeanor serial number tampering. AB 1743 expands the state's data-sharing framework, allowing law enforcement to cross-reference California's Automated Firearms System during criminal investigations. AB 1974 lets local agencies set up voluntary firearm storage programs.
Emma Brown, the executive director of Giffords, celebrated the signing by declaring that "California leads the nation in gun safety because its leaders work tirelessly to prevent violence and keep communities safe." She added: "The policies enacted today will save lives."
The California Rifle and Pistol Association had a different read. "Public safety is better served by enforcing existing laws against prohibited persons," CRPA stated, adding that "imposing a 10-year blanket prohibition on Second Amendment rights for such misdemeanors goes beyond what is necessary."
Here's the part nobody in Sacramento wants to discuss. Between 2016 and 2021, California recorded more than 69,000 shootings resulting in death or urgent medical care. One-third of those were accidental. The state already required background checks for ammunition purchases — a law voters approved by ballot proposition in 2016. It already had red flag laws, assault weapons bans, magazine capacity limits, a handgun roster, and waiting periods.
All of that was on the books when those 69,000 people got shot.
Newsom himself said on Facebook that he "couldn't be more proud of California's continued bold leadership on gun violence prevention." Bold leadership. The same state that ranked number one in active shooter incidents in both 2021 and 2023, according to FBI data cited by Breitbart. Number one in gun laws. Number one in active shooters. Both stats belong to Newsom's California.
The four-hour training requirement under SB 948 doesn't take effect for current residents purchasing new firearms until 2029. So even by Newsom's own timeline, whatever crisis supposedly demanded ten bills at once won't be addressed by the centerpiece legislation for another three years.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is preparing to take up major Second Amendment cases this term. The timing of a ten-bill signing spree — just as SCOTUS signals it's ready to revisit gun rights jurisprudence — has a certain theatrical quality to it. Newsom gets the press conference. The courts get the last word.
California's gun owners now operate under a regulatory framework so dense that compliance itself requires professional guidance. The state added ten new laws to a system that was already the most restrictive in America and produced the results it produced.
Newsom signed them on a Saturday.
