California bill upping training requirements for permit advances

A measure stepping up the training requiring for those seeking concealed carry permits in the state passed out of a key Assembly committee this week.

The proposal, AB 2103, would set a mandatory minimum of at least eight hours of firearms training in addition to other requirements to carry a gun in the state. The bill passed the Public Safety Committee 6-1 on Tuesday and sponsors argue it is needed for public safety.

“Our nation is falling victim to gun violence with regularity, and a significant part of this problem is that guns are consistently ending up in the wrong hands,” said sponsor, Assemblymember Todd Gloria. “This is what my bill seeks to prevent.”

The bill would set a minimum threshold of eight hours of training including live-fire shooting exercises. Current guidelines authorize sheriffs and police chiefs in the state to require no more than 16 hours of training before issuing an initial permit and a four-hour minimum on renewals. Some jurisdictions have higher requirements than what is being proposed, but gun control advocates who support the measure say a statewide mandate for more training is needed.

Gun rights advocates say the move is uncalled for and duplicative. “It seems redundant to have the state requiring that which most counties already do,” Craig DeLuz, with the Firearms Policy Coalition, told Guns.com. “But what makes this a bad idea is the vague/nonexistent standards set by this legislation.”

DeLuz argued the backers of the measure are out of their depth. “The truth is, Assemblyman Gloria has no idea what he is doing when it comes to concealed carry training standards,” he said. “The fact that he compared training for his high school rifle team to CCW training is all the proof you need that fact.”

The bill now heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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