Jerry Brown signs bill to step up California gun enforcement

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation to increase funding for a state effort to confiscate weapons from people who are prohibited from owning them because of mental illness or violent criminal pasts, Brown's office announced today.

Senate Bill 140 was one of a number of gun control proposals introduced by California Democrats following the December shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. The measure found bipartisan support in the Legislature, despite opposition from the National Rifle Association and other pro-gun groups.

The legislation directs $24 million to the state Department of Justice to improve enforcement efforts associated with the state's Armed Prohibited Persons System, a database that helps officials identify people who are no longer allowed to possess guns.

"Today, each California community is a step closer to being safer," Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said in a prepared statement. "This swift action by the Legislature and the Governor to enforce the laws we already have is a wise and worthy investment to reduce gun violence."

PHOTO CREDIT: Gov. Jerry Brown talks to members of the press on Tuesday, April 23, 2013. Hector Amezcua / The Sacramento Bee

Via Sacbee.com

Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/05/jerry-brown-signs-bill-to-step-up-california-gun-enforcement.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/05/jerry-brown-signs-bill-to-step-up-california-gun-enforcement.html#storylink=cpy