Bill Text: CA SB902 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Firearms: public safety.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Enrolled) 2024-08-29 - Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 36. Noes 3.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. [SB902 Detail]
Download: California-2023-SB902-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Assembly
August 19, 2024 |
Amended
IN
Senate
April 03, 2024 |
Amended
IN
Senate
March 13, 2024 |
Introduced by Senators Roth and Portantino (Coauthors: Senators Min and Newman) |
January 03, 2024 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
This bill would make related findings and declarations.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)Well-documented research shared in a law enforcement bulletin by the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows that cruelty to animals is “a predictive or co-occurring crime with violence against humans (including intimate partners, children, and elders).”
(b)According to a 2019 article in the Journal of Interpersonal
Violence, child exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health concern with 16 percent of children being exposed to IPV in their lifetimes.
(c)The same article pointed to a 2019 study of almost 300 women who had been in abusive intimate relationships: “90.7% . . . reported that children in the household experienced animal maltreatment through direct exposure to threats and violence against animals, which emerged as a notable theme in the data. As reported by participants, children were often present as observers in close proximity to violence and threats against their companion animals. In addition, firearms or household objects were often mentioned in the context of threats against pets or used as weapons to harm the animal.”
(d)In some
instances, the child tried to protect their companion animals by either intervening or putting themselves between the
abuser and the animal, putting the child at risk of being harmed.
(e)Exposure to co-occurring IPV and animal maltreatment may exacerbate children’s risk of negative outcomes in life, including health, mental health, substance abuse, and unlawful behavior, as well as perpetuating violent behaviors and warrants further study.
(f)Violence towards animals is strongly associated with violence against humans, and it is in the interest of California citizens to prohibit animal abusers from owning or possessing firearms.