A group of California lawmakers said Monday that the Orlando massacre is a call to action for the state Legislature to pass a package of 11 gun control bills scheduled for key votes this week .
(LATimes)- Four Assembly members gathered with community leaders in San Francisco to call on their colleagues to pass the legislation that includes measures to plug loopholes in the state’s ban on the sale of assault weapons.
“Why are guns that are so dangerous to human life available so easily?” said Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) at the Hiram Johnson State Building. “Yesterday’s tragedy was a call to action. The loss of life in our communities has become unbearable.”
California law already bans the sale of AR-15-style assault weapons like the one reportedly used by Omar Mateen when he killed 50 people and wounded more than 50 others at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla.
State officials say similar but differently named semiautomatic guns outfitted with “bullet buttons” that allow quick replacement of ammunition magazines could still be sold.
Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) said the bills scheduled for actionTuesday in legislative committees would close loopholes that allow the sale of semiautomatic rifles with detachable magazines.
Other bills would outlaw the possession of magazines with a capacity of more than 10 bullets and require background checks for people who buy ammunition.