California lawmakers are passing new restrictions on firearms as the two-year legislative session winds down this week.
The state already limits most gun buyers to purchasing no more than one handgun each month. Senate Bill 1177, which the Assembly passed, would extend that restriction to rifles and long guns.
Democratic Assemblyman Miguel Santiago recounted the story of a gun owner with 144 weapons.
“No one needs 144, no one needs 200 of these things, 10 of these things, or 30 of these things, outside of the exemptions that we’ve just stated,” he said.
Those exemptions include purchases at charity auctions or by people with hunting licenses.
Republican Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez objected to further tightening some of the toughest gun laws in the nation. She also said that must firearm crimes are with handguns.
“This bill is looking for a problem that doesn’t exist,” she said.
The measure passed largely along party lines and heads to the Senate.
Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill in 2015.
The Assembly also approved AB 2103, which would require an eight-hour training class for people applying for concealed-carry permits. That measure heads to the governor.
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