It was a small protest. About 50-60 gun rights activists held a rally at Cesar Chavez Plaza in Sacramento to protest six new gun bills that Brown signed into law on Friday. The activists claim these new laws turn law abiding citizens into criminals.
Eleven gun-related bills were passed by the legislature on Thursday and sent to the governor for signature. The bills were introduced in response to the San Bernardino shootings in December and gained traction after the Orlando shootings that left 49 people dead and 53 injured.
Brown signed six of the bills and vetoed the remaining five. One bill signed by Brown requires a background check to purchase ammunition and the state will keep a database of ammunition owners. A second bill bans the use of magazines that hold more than 10 bullets. And it is now illegal to loan a gun to a family member without that person undergoing a background check.
Another bill signed by Brown bans the use of “bullet buttons.” For years it has been illegal to have a weapon with a magazine that can be detached by use of a finger. Manufacturers got around that loophole by the use of bullet buttons that allow the magazine to detach by pushing a button. Under the new law, magazines must be affixed to the weapons and only removable by the use of a tool. The purpose is to slow down reloading times.
Among the bills vetoed by Brown are ones that would make the theft or purchase of a gun a felony regardless of value, limiting people in the state to the purchase of one rifle or shotgun per month and requiring people who make a gun a home to put a serial number on it and register it with the state.
The National Rifle Association accused Brown of taking advantage of terrorist attacks to turn law abiding gun owners into second-class citizens.
Some of the protesters, who came from all over Northern California, held up banners reading “WE WILL NOT COMPLY.” The protest had been planned for more than two months and was intended to try to persuade Brown not to sign these bills into law. Now that it was too late for that the activists changed their message to argue for non-compliance. One of the co-organizers said it was unlikely people would surrender their bullet buttons or large capacity magazines they have spent thousands of dollars for.
But Jorge Riley, president of the Sacramento branch of the California Republican Assembly organization who was also at the protest, said people should use legal means try to overturn the laws. Riley said the laws are unconstitutional and the state violated the Constitution and passed laws contrary to those of the federal government.
Organizers attribute the low turnout to the fact the bills have already been signed into law and many people are resigned to the fact it is a done deal.
