Inland Assemblywoman's Bill Aims to Reinstate Felony Penalties for Firearm Theft

The following was submitted for publication by the office of Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez:

Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, announced her bill, AB 150, to allow voters a chance to reinstate felony penalties for gun theft, received unanimous support in the Assembly Public Safety committee Tuesday.

“A person doesn’t steal a gun to go duck hunting; people steal guns to commit crimes,” said Melendez, the Vice Chair of the Assembly Public Safety Committee. “During a time when the legislature is pushing for tougher gun control laws for law abiding citizens it makes no sense to relax the penalty for gun-stealing criminals.”

The bill addresses a critical flaw with the recently-passed Proposition 47.

Prior to the passage of Proposition 47, stealing any type of firearm was considered felony grand theft. Proposition 47 reduced the penalty to a misdemeanor for firearms valued at under $950.

If passed, Melendez’s bill would send the issue of firearm theft back to the ballot as a stand-alone provision that voters could either reaffirm or reject.

“To truly root out gun violence in this state we have to focus our efforts on preventing guns from falling into the hands of criminals,” said Melendez. “I do not believe it was the intent of the voters to undermine this effort when passing Prop 47.”

AB 150 is jointly authored by Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced).

Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez represents the 67th Assembly District, which includes the communities of Lake Elsinore, Canyon Lake, Murrieta, Menifee, Wildomar and a portion of Hemet. It also includes the Riverside County unincorporated areas of Lake Mathews, Good Hope, Nuevo, and Winchester.

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