California Republican Wants Warning Labels on Guns

gun warning sign (evan p. cordes / Flickr / CC)
evan p. cordes / Flickr / C

California State Assemblywoman Catherine Baker (R-Dublin) is pushing legislation to require that warning labels accompany all firearms sold in the state.

Baker’s bill, AB 1525, would also raise the passing grade “for the issuance of a firearm safety certificate” from 75% to 85%.

The text of Baker’s bill says that firearms packaging and “any descriptive materials” that accompany firearms sold in California shall contain the following warning:

The presence of a firearm in the home can significantly increase the risk of suicide, homicide, and unintentional shootings for household members. Firearms must be handled responsibly and securely stored to prevent access by children and other unauthorized users. California has strict laws pertaining to firearms and you can be fined or imprisoned for failure to comply with them. Visit the web site of the California Attorney General…for information on firearms laws applicable to you and how you can comply.
The warning also states:
Children are attracted to and can operate firearms that can cause severe injuries or death. Prevent child access by always keeping guns locked away and unloaded when not in use. If you keep a loaded firearm where a child obtains and improperly uses it, you may be fined or sent to prison.

The Firearms Policy Coalition reports that the warning label push is the result of Baker and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence working together for more gun control in California.

Baker is the only Republican representing the San Francisco Bay Area, and serves in a highly contested East Bay seat.

The “warning label” push was anticipated well in advance by gun rights advocates. On May 8, 2013 — less than a month after Senator Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) post-Sandy Hook gun control bill went down in flames — Breitbart News asked, “Is Gun Ownership the New Smoking?” The point of the question was to examine whether desperate gun control groups were about to go after guns using the same tactics that anti-tobacco forces had employed to go after cigarettes.

During a Sep. 10, 2015 appearance on Hardball with Chris Matthews, Moms Demand Action’s Shannon Watts confirmed that her gun control group planned on defeating the NRA by going around Congress to put “policies in place” at various businesses “just like they did with tighter [laws for] smoking.”

Assemblywoman Baker and the Brady Campaign are now calling for warning labels similar to those printed on the outside of cigarette packs and cartons.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.

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