SJR 24 calls on Congress to reauthorize and strengthen the federal assault weapons ban and urges CalPERS to divest its gun holdings
SACRAMENTO – A resolution by State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) urging Congress to reauthorize and strengthen the federal assault weapons ban and calling on CalPERS to divest its gun holdings passed off the Senate floor today with 24 votes in support. Senate Joint Resolution 24 now heads to the Assembly.
“More than 400 Americans have been killed or wounded by firearms in over 200 school shootings since Sandy Hook,” said Senator Jackson. “It is morally reprehensible that Congress has done nothing to protect our children from horrific gun violence in their schools. Our students should be safe at school and able to focus on their grades, not guns.”
While military-style assault weapons have been banned in California for decades, the federal assault weapons ban was allowed to expire in 2004. With its strict gun control laws, California has reduced its gun mortality rate by over 56% since 1993, three and a half times the reduction made in the rest of the United States.
Americans overwhelmingly support stronger laws to prevent gun violence. A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll showed that 77 percent of respondents said President Donald Trump and Congress are not doing enough to stop mass shootings. A Quinnipiac poll found that 67 percent of Americans support a nationwide ban on the sale of assault weapons. The March for Our Lives student-led demonstrations against gun violence drew hundreds of thousands of people throughout the country.
Senate Joint Resolution 24 urges Congress to reauthorize and strengthen the federal assault weapons ban. The resolution also urges CalPERS to take steps to reduce gun violence where Congress refuses to act by divesting all of its holdings related to the production and sale of firearms.
Jackson represents the 19th Senate District, which includes all of Santa Barbara County and western Ventura County.