Hot take: The National Rifle Association agrees with Governor Newsom

The irony is palpable, with just a few years ago the Trump Administration defending a certain infamous individual who brought an AR-15 style rifle to a protest in 2020, all while also pardoning about 1,500 January 6 insurrectionists, many of them armed, with extensive criminal records. The public outrage comes just weeks after federal officers killed a mother of three in Minneapolis and while the federal government is under fire for rising deaths of detainees in federal civil immigration custody. 

And yet, a chasm appears to be growing. This past Monday, reports indicated that the Border Patrol’s top leader was demoted and is being kicked out of the federal government’s operations in Minnesota. 

Your rights

The Supreme Court has affirmed the individual right to keep and bear arms for lawful purposes, such as self-defense. However, the nation’s highest court has been equally clear that Second Amendment rights are not without limits.

Just as free speech does not protect incitement or threats, the right to bear arms allows for reasonable regulations, conditions on commercial sales, restrictions on possession by dangerous individuals, and laws designed to protect public safety.

California law is clear

California leads the nation in comprehensive, life-saving gun safety policies. Year after year, California has been recognized for having the nation’s strongest gun safety laws. The latest 2026 Everytown rankings – with California as the #1 state in the nation for gun law strength and effectiveness – underscore that leadership, reflecting policies such as universal background checks, safe storage requirements, waiting periods, and a robust system of protection orders. 

Research consistently shows that states with stronger gun safety laws experience lower rates of gun deaths and injuries — reinforcing California’s public health focused approach to prevention. 

California’s gun safety approach prioritizes regulating who can access firearms rather than imposing a blanket ban on lawful gun ownership, including universal background checks, red flag laws to temporarily remove guns from people in crisis, and prohibitions for violent offenders and domestic abusers.

State laws recognize public safety doesn’t stop at the point of sale, including providing for stronger oversight of gun dealers, preventing straw purchasing and firearms trafficking, and ensuring civil accountability when negligence fuels illegal gun markets.

The outcomes that matter

Strong gun laws save lives. California has reduced its gun violence rate by enacting effective gun safety laws.  In states where officials have passed gun safety laws, fewer people die by gun violence. Texas and Florida, which ranked 32nd and 23rd, respectively, in gun law strength, have firearm mortality rates double California’s.

If the gun death rate in the rest of the U.S. matched California’s over the past decade, there would have been nearly 140,000 lives saved and potentially hundreds of thousands fewer gunshot injuries, according to the California Department of Justice’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

Red flag flaws, also known as protection orders, are a critical part of that strategy. California has nine different types of protection orders that temporarily require firearms and ammunition to be removed when a court determines there is a risk of harm. These tools have already helped prevent dozens of potential tragedies, including threatened mass shootings.

Protection orders reduce gun violence 

California was the first state in the nation to adopt a “red flag law” in 2016. This law builds off a bedrock of available protection orders – 9 in total – that prohibit firearm possession for people subject to orders ranging from domestic violence to workplace harassment. In the first three years of their existence, these protection orders were used to prevent 58 cases of threatened mass shootings. There have been significant increases in utilization of GVROs – increasing by 118% – from 2020 to 2023.

Providing more tools to Californians so they can stay safe from gun violence, a new interactive online tool is helping communities find clear, local guidance on how to file these protection orders and access community-based support. 

The Local Resource Connector is designed to help people navigate what can often be a confusing and stressful process. By entering a ZIP code or county, users can quickly find:

• The correct local court and self-help resources
• Community-based organizations that offer free or low-cost assistance
• Contact information, locations, and supported languages for local services

The tool serves as a clear starting point for individuals, families, and those supporting someone in crisis, helping ensure they reach the right resources the first time.