Gun-Check Bill Inspired by Isla Vista Tragedy Heads to Governor

By Robin Simmonds

The California Legislature today approved a measure that would encourage law enforcement officers to check to see whether a person who may be a danger to themselves or others is also the owner of a firearm.

Senate Bill 505, introduced by state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), was written in the aftermath of the Isla Vista rampage, when six people where killed by 22-year old Elliot Rodger, before Rodger committed suicide. Described as troubled since a young age, Rodger had been visited by law enforcement some three weeks before the shooting.

The bill, if signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, would prompt officers to check the state’s existing database of gun registration before making a ‘welfare check’ on someone who may pose a danger.

“We will never know for sure if the outcome in Isla Vista might have been different with a gun database search,” said Jackson. “But the next time California experiences a similar tragedy, we shouldn’t be left wondering. Searches of the gun database can be done in as little as 90 seconds, and those 90 seconds can help save lives.”

The bill also requires law enforcement agencies to develop written policies and standard protocols to conduct the “welfare check.” State Sen. Steve Knight (R-Antelope Valley), who voted for the bill, said that police officers need more information on how to conduct the checks.

“Any more information, any tangible thing that we can take on those calls is very helpful,” said Knight during the Senate debate on Friday. “This is going to help keep police officers safe, and make welfare checks safer for everyone.”

SB 505 was opposed by the California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees, who argued that it further stigmatizes gun owners who play by the rules and may prompt some to see gun owners as a social risk.

Current legislation authorizes these gun database checks at the discretion of the officer. This bill would create a state mandate that would cost the state, per a legislative analysis,  $400,000 per year.

Governor Brown has not indicated whether he will sign the bill. However, last year Brown vetoed 11 bills that he thought were too tough on gun control -- including one to allow Oakland to have more stringent gun registration and licensing statutes than the rest of the state.