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California Parents Would Have To Tell Schools About Guns At Home Under This Law
A pistol is displayed at a gun range.
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EVARISTO SA
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AFP via Getty Images
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A California State Senate bill would require parents of school students to report any firearms in their homes if passed.
SB-906, authored by Democratic Senator Anthony Portantino from La Cañada Flintridge, was introduced Tuesday. Portantino penned the proposed law, which aims to keep track of what guns students may have access to in their household, in response to a recent rise in school shootings in the state:
"The bill would require local educational agencies to require the parents or guardians of a pupil to disclose whether any firearms are located at the home of the pupil and to answer questions about the ownership, storage, and accessibility by the pupil of the firearms. The bill would require local educational agencies to include information related to the safe storage of firearms in the annual notification provided to the parents or guardians of a pupil."
The senator says that the legislation would serve to bolster existing authority when it comes to threats of potential school shootings. Schools already have the ability to call law enforcement and search students for firearms, but SB-906 would also make the search mandatory when danger is deemed credible.
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"As we saw in Michigan, a school was notified of a credible threat, and then hesitated to take action and that led to tragic results," Portantino told LAist.
Portantino is referencing the fatal shooting of four students at Oxford High School in Michigan on Nov. 30. Fifteen-year-old Ethan Crumbley allegedly opened fire on classmates just hours after his parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, met with school officials over red flags raised about their son's possible intentions.
Ethan Crumbley was then sent back to class.
The bill's introduction and first reading mark the earliest step in the state's legislative process. SB-906 would also provide parents with information on how to safely store firearms.
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