SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — A step to help stop mass casualty events caused by firearms took a step forward toward final passage on Tuesday when the California Assembly Committee on Public Safety approved Senate Bill 906, sending it to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SB 906 is one of several proposed bills working their way through the California Legislature, with a vast majority of them gaining approval from relevant committees despite vocal opposition from various groups such as the National Rifle Association and others.
SB 906 was introduced by state Senator Antony Portantino, a Democrat from La Canada Flingtride, in February of this year not long after the mass school shooting took place at Oxford High School in Oxford, Michigan, in November 2021.
“In many cases of a school shootings there were warning signs. Recent events in Michigan show that there sometimes is hesitancy in acting on them, which could lead to tragic results. It is my hope to take the politics and hesitancy out of the equation and give school districts the mandate they need to investigate and act on discernable threats. Knowing and understanding the signs of potential gun violence can help prevent it. Making information available to schools will help them assess threats and educating parents on the importance of safe storage will make homes safer, too,” Portantino said in a press release when he introduced the legislation.
Before the Public Safety Committee Portantino not only incorporated the amendments requested by the Committee which changed the rules regarding when and where searches by school officials can occur, but also helped to mitigate civil liberty concerns.
“My goal is to help educate parents about the importance of safely storing weapons at home,” Portantino told the Committee. “While also providing tools for school districts and their staff to respond proactively to mass casualty threats.”
Under the proposed legislation, staff and administrators would have to immediately report any information they receive about a mass casualty event to local law enforcement. This can include overhearing students talking about what they read online, siblings talking about what their other sibling was talking about at home to a teacher or any other visual or written information about any perceived threat.
The legislation would allow school site police or local law enforcement to conduct searches throughout the school or the property of the individual who is accused of a potential mass casualty event.
Firearms Policy Coalition has come out against the bill and in a press release declared the proposed legislation unconstitutional. The group said in the press release that if the legislation is passed by the Legislature and signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom they will challenge the law in court.
SB 906 now moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee before it reaches the floor of the Assembly.
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