Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Juvenile Firearm Restrictions topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Assembly committee advances bill to extend firearm prohibitions to some juvenile adjudications
Summary
The Assembly Public Safety Committee passed AB 383, which would expand certain firearm-possession prohibitions to include some juvenile adjudications, after amendments that narrowed the reach for simple possession. Supporters cite public-safety data; opponents say the measure risks over-criminalizing youth and harming communities of color.
Assemblymember Laurie Davies, author of Assembly Bill 383, asked the Assembly Public Safety Committee for an aye vote on a measure that would amend California’s firearm laws to apply certain firearm-possession prohibitions to juvenile adjudications.
AB 383 would amend portions of the Penal Code that prohibit firearm possession by persons convicted of felonies so that certain juvenile adjudications would also trigger those prohibitions. Davies said she would accept committee amendments that, among other changes, move a prohibition tied to simple possession from an age-30 bar to an age-25 bar.
“Ensuring that juveniles who have committed serious offense are prohibited from possessing firearms until the age of 30 is paramount to keeping our community safe from violence,” Assemblymember Davies said. Orange County Deputy District Attorney Joe Kohler, testifying in support on behalf of District Attorney Todd Spitzer, told the committee the bill would close a gap between adult felony convictions and juvenile adjudications and cited state and national public-health data on youth firearm deaths.
Opponents including the ACLU’s legislative attorney George Grama and Melinda Kakani of Children’s Defense Fund California argued the bill would sweep too broadly. Grama said AB 383 could reach “a kid who shows off his dad’s unloaded handgun,” and he warned the bill could impose a lifelong collateral consequence for youthful mistakes. Kakani said the proposal risks increasing racial disparities in the juvenile system and argued rehabilitation-focused juvenile law should not automatically trigger long-term weapons restrictions.
Committee members pressed the author on how the bill would affect youths who later seek careers in law enforcement or the military. Deputy District Attorney Kohler and the author pointed to existing judicial procedures that allow for dismissal or withdrawal of adjudications under Welfare and Institutions Code section 782 for persons who successfully complete rehabilitation, which can restore rights in appropriate cases.
Motion by Assemblymember Alanis, second by Assemblymember Winn. The committee recorded an aye recommendation and passed AB 383 as amended to the Appropriations Committee. The transcript records several committee members voting “aye,” and the clerk announced the measure passed and was sent to Appropriations.
The bill remains under review as it moves to the appropriations process; the author and several committee members said they will continue working with stakeholders on equity concerns raised in opposition testimony.
