Committee Passes RivCo Lawmaker's Proposal to Strengthen Firearms Theft Penalties

A Riverside County lawmaker's bill seeking to reclassify firearms thefts as felonies instead of misdemeanors cleared a Senate committee Wednesday, moving it closer to a final vote in the upper chamber of the Legislature.

Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, described Assembly Bill 1869 as a "very simple" measure to rectify a change in state law precipitated by voter-approved Proposition 47 in 2014.

"What does a pack of gum and a firearm have in common? Stealing either gets you only a simple slap on the wrist," Melendez said. "If you steal a gun, you should go to prison."

The Senate Public Safety Committee approved AB 1869 in a 6-1 vote Tuesday. The proposal, which was previously approved by the Assembly, is now bound for the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Prop 47 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 AB 1869 would revise that portion of Prop 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 at more than $950, for which only a few handguns retail.

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.

According to Melendez, since Prop 47 became law, four murders in California have been perpetrated with stolen firearms.

"I am one of the strongest defenders of the Second Amendment in the state Legislature, but keeping guns out of the hands of criminals -- now that is a responsible gun measure that everyone can get behind," the two-term lawmaker said.

If approved by the Senate, AB 1869 would be placed on the November ballot as a stand-alone proposal for voters to decide.

– By City News Service. Image via Shutterstock.