While unveiling a bill that would modify California’s concealed carry laws on Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom took aim at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for a proposal that would allow individuals in Florida to carry a concealed firearm without a permit.
“It’s remarkable we’re living in this moment in time. It’s also remarkable as a point of contrast that we’re living in a moment in time where states like Florida are moving in the exact opposite direction,” Newsom said at a press conference. “As I stated earlier this week, the governor of Florida wants to move without any permits or any consideration, no requirements whatsoever, none for training — ‘why should you be trained?’”
The Florida proposal, which was announced Monday by Republican lawmakers in the state, would nix the traditional background check and firearms training that have traditionally been required to obtain a concealed carry permit in Florida. The law does not, however, affect the state’s laws for acquiring a firearm in the first place.
Newsom was quick to criticize the proposal in a tweet made a few hours after the bill was announced.
“FACT: Permitless carry does not make you safer,” he said. “States that allow concealed carry have higher gun homicide rates.”
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In the tweet, Newsom also blasted Florida Republicans for proposing a measure that would remove background checks, instruction, training and oversight from the permitting process near the fifth anniversary of the Parkland shooting, in which a gunman killed 17 students at Stoneman Douglas High School.
The new California bill, which Newsom announced Wednesday alongside gun safety advocates and state Attorney General Rob Bonta, is an attempt to come under compliance with a Supreme Court ruling last year that endangered permitting schemes in several Democratic-controlled states, including California. It also comes after a string of mass shootings in the state.
Newsom says the proposal would enhance the existing licensing system for a concealed carry permit by raising the age for acquiring such a permit from 18 to 21, as well as strengthening the training and storage requirements for getting a permit. The bill would also establish “safe community places” where even concealed firearms would not be permitted. Critically, however, the bill “would remove the good character and good cause requirements from the issuance criteria,” meaning permits must be issued if applicants can satisfy the relevant criteria. San Francisco, for instance, is about to issue many concealed carry permits in the months ahead. That’s a dramatic shift from before the Supreme Court ruling, when local governments could deny permits unless someone showed a compelling reason for wanting a permit.
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