Senate Bill 948, introduced in February by Berkeley Democrat Jesse Arreguin, would require anyone buying a firearm in California to first complete a four-hour safety course with a certified instructor, then obtain a state-issued “firearms safety certificate.”
But here’s where it gets interesting. The bill doesn’t just target future buyers. It goes after people who move to California with guns they already legally own. Under SB 948, new residents get 180 days to complete the course, register their firearms, and secure the certificate. Miss that deadline and you’re not just out of compliance. You’re facing serious criminal charges.
There aren’t enough certified instructors or shooting ranges to handle the state’s entire gun-buying population at once. Kevin Small of the California Rifle and Pistol Association pointed this out during a March hearing on the bill: “We already are kind of strapped for range time. Now, if you try to incorporate essentially every gun purchaser in the state…” He didn’t even finish the sentence. He didn’t need to.
John Commerford, executive director of the NRA-ILA, told The Daily Caller: “Senate Bill 948 is yet another failed approach that punishes law-abiding Californians. It forces lengthy mandatory training courses, live-fire exercises, and state-controlled instruction just to receive a government permission slip to exercise your Constitutional rights.”
“California needs to stop harassing peaceful, law-abiding citizens and start prosecuting actual criminals,” Commerford said.
Criminals, meanwhile, don’t schedule instructor-led safety courses. They don’t register their firearms. They don’t submit compliance paperwork to Sacramento. They never did. This law, like every California gun law before it, affects exactly one class of people: those who already follow the rules.
