Politics & Government
Assembly Passes Local Lawmaker's Proposal to Strengthen Firearms Theft Penalties
"This house has finally passed legislation to address gun violence that focuses on actual criminals rather than law-abiding citizens."
LAKE ELSINORE, CA - A bill by Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez to reclassify firearms thefts as felonies rather than misdemeanors, which a voter- approved measure made possible, was approved Tuesday by the Assembly.
"I am one of the strongest defenders of the Second Amendment in the state Legislature, but if you steal a gun, jail time should be in your future," said Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore.
"This house has finally passed legislation to address gun violence that focuses on actual criminals rather than law-abiding citizens."
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Proposition 47, approved by voters in November 2014, reduced 22 drug-and theft-related offenses from felonies to misdemeanors, and additionally paved the way for offenders convicted under prior statutes to apply for re-sentencing under the lesser penalties.
Melendez said Assembly Bill 1869 would revise the portion of Proposition 47 that reduces all gun theft crimes to misdemeanors. It's still possible to charge gun thieves with felonies -- but the stolen property must be valued over $950, for which only a few handguns retail.
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Melendez endeavored to shepherd a similar bill through the Legislature last year. Although that proposal, AB 150, received unanimous support in the Assembly Public Safety Committee, which Melendez co-chairs, the lower chamber's Democratic leadership ultimately quashed it, which didn't happen in this session.
According to Melendez, since Proposition 47 became law, four murders in California have been perpetrated with stolen firearms.
"Criminals steal guns to commit violent crimes, not to add to their gun collection," Melendez said. "It's frightening to think that right now someone could steal a gun and get a punishment equal to that as stealing a pack of gum."
AB 1869 is now bound for the Senate Public Safety Committee.
If it receives majority approval in the Senate, the bill would become a measure on the November ballot, according to Melendez.
— By City News Service. Image via Shutterstock.
