New California gun control laws limit firearm purchases, expand restraining orders

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed new gun control laws that expand the availability of gun violence restraining orders and place stricter limits on the number of firearms Californians can buy each month.

Starting in July 2021, Californians will be allowed to purchase one long gun per month. People younger than age 21 won’t be allowed to obtain those weapons, with few exceptions for law enforcement officers and military service members.

Former Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed similar proposals in 2016, 2017 and 2018, and the California Rifle & Pistol Association announced shortly after Newsom signed SB 61 that it plans to sue the state over concerns the law violates people’s Second Amendment right to obtain guns.

Under a separate law, the state will soon allow teachers and co-workers to request a court take a gun away from someone they believe to be dangerous. Currently, only law enforcement agencies and immediate family members are able to ask for a so-called gun violence restraining order.