A bill introduced in the California legislature on Friday aims to require gun owners to inform insurance companies of how many guns they own and how the firearms are stored.
The Residential Property Firearms Insurance Bill was introduced by Assembly Member Mike Gipson, whose district includes Compton and parts of Carson and Long Beach. The bill, AB 3067, would require home and renter’s insurance applicants to list the number of firearms they own, whether they are kept in a “locked container,” and whether any firearms are stored in vehicles kept on the relevant property.
The information collected by insurance companies would then be submitted to the California Department of Insurance annually. The legislation specifies that data sent to the agency would not include identifying information, such as names, addresses, or telephone numbers.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been a supporter of anti-gun legislation and has suggested he supports a rewriting of the U.S. Constitution in order to enact national anti-gun policies in step with those of his state.
While the state has passed many anti-gun bills, the courts have increasingly struck down such legislation as unconstitutional. Most recently, an appellate court struck down a law that would have banned concealed carry in 26 places, including public parks, any place that serves alcohol, and places of worship. Cormack Carney, the judge in that case, said the law would have banned lawful carry in virtually every public area.
Another California judge, Roger Benitez, struck down California’s ban on large-capacity magazines for the second time in 2023 and previously struck down the state’s military-style rifle ban.
Gipson’s office was not immediately available for comment. His official website lists six bills he has worked on, with the majority addressing so-called ghost guns, which are partially completed firearms intended to be finalized by the end user. These guns are increasingly found at crime scenes and often do not have serial numbers. Background checks, required for California gun purchases, are not required for ghost guns.
Three of the bills Gipson has introduced would add age restrictions, serial numbers, and background check requirements to ghost guns sold in the state.
The Residential Property Firearms Insurance Bill will likely head to committee before being heard by the Assembly sometime later this year. While it will likely pass through the California legislature, meeting Constitutional muster will be a task for the courts to decide.
