Olivia Russo
Staff Writer
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a total of 23 gun safety bills into law recently as California continues to lead the nation in gun safety.
Newsom was surrounded by gun control advocates, Attorney General Rob Bonta, lawmakers and many survivors of gun violence, while signing these bills.
“I think all of the laws we enact to regulate is a step, because I think the ultimate goal is to have your people, your population feel safe, so they don’t feel like they need these things,” Linda Bartelt, adjunct education professor, said. “Perhaps with some of these stepping stones we can get to the real project, which is what is going on with our society that makes it violent.”
These measures cover the issues of pricing of firearms, education, and prohibiting open carry in certain places. The passing of Senate Bill 2 means that gun-owners must be over the age of 21 and they are prohibited from carrying firearms in school areas, on public transportation, and in medical facilities.
Assembly Bill 28 will impose an 11% tax increase when purchasing a firearm and ammunition. The money received will go into school safety and various violence prevention programs, including that of removing guns from domestic abusers.
While signing the bills, Newsom expressed the importance of gun safety laws, saying they do work and that California has a 43% lower gun death rate than the rest of the country.
“I don’t think any one human being should have the capability of going out and killing 100 people in one fell swoop with an assault weapon or grenade launcher or whatever, where is that line? It should be common sense,” education professor John Bartlet said.
Other bills that were signed by Newsom included microstamping bullets used in handguns for easier traceability when investigating a crime and strengthening limits on where people are allowed for public carry.
A few also deal with purchasing and owning multiple firearms, the handwritten test will also be able to be taken in multiple different languages including Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, Dari and Armenian.
Most of the laws are set to decrease the gun violence California has overall, with a specific emphasis on schools, as they come in response to the many school shootings that happen every year. However, most of these policies are already being implemented at the University of La Verne.
“In essence, the weapons policy is that nobody can have firearms on the campus. I can’t have firearms on campus,” Jerry Espinoza, assistant director of Campus Safety said. “I don’t think any of the legislation that has passed affects this because, there’s existing laws already, and the University has this policy.”
While ULV may not be impacted by the various laws, Jessica Marchant, an elementary school teacher at Sycamore school in Claremont, believes that these laws may help to soothe the worries of students at the younger grade levels.
“At the beginning of every school year, I ask my students to write me a letter…and every year there are a number of kids who express concerns about school shootings,” Marchant said. “We really need to move forward as a society of putting the lives of children… ahead of people’s right to do whatever they want with a gun… I think there’s always more that can be done, and we shouldn’t stop until they don’t happen anymore.”
Olivia Russo can be reached at olivia.russo@laverne.edu.
Olivia Russo is a senior journalism major with a concentration in print/online journalism and a minor in criminology. She is the Editor-in-Chief for the Campus Times for Spring 2026. She has previously served as the News Editor, LV Life Editor, a photographer and a staff writer for the Campus Times, as well as a staff writer and photographer for La Verne Magazine.
