California lawmakers approved legislation Monday that would close a loophole in state gun control laws that surfaced after a mass shooting at a suburban San Diego County synagogue last year. The Senate sent the bill to Gov. Gavin Newsom for consideration.
The state currently prohibits the sale of rifles to people under age 21 unless they have a valid hunting license, but the 19-year-old Poway shooter was able to buy a semiautomatic rifle for the attack despite his age and though he did not posses a valid hunting license.
The bill by Sen. Anthony J. Portantino (D–La Cañada Flintridge) would require gun dealers and the state Department of Justice to confirm that rifle purchasers under age 21 have a valid hunting license.
“We have a gun violence epidemic in our country and it sadly has become all too common to see senseless violence in the news,” Portantino said. “It is even more appalling that these shootings, including the Poway tragedy, have increasingly targeted houses of worship.”
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