Senator Brian Jones' bill supporting legal gun ownership rights approved by Senate

SACRAMENTO – Senator Brian Jones (R-Santee) announced today that his Senate Bill 723 passed the Senate unanimously. This bill corrects a hastily written state law that could cause an otherwise legal gun owner to become a felon if a warrant was issued in their name, whether or not they have knowledge of the existence of the warrant.

“Simply owning a legal firearm should never put an individual in danger of becoming a felon,” said Senator Jones. “California’s current law could cause a gun owner to lose their due process rights that should be guaranteed to all Californians.”

SB 723 corrects a policy that was improperly added through the budget process and never received a policy committee hearing. This bill clarifies that any person for whom a warrant has been issued must have knowledge of the warrant before they can be arrested for a specific firearm related charge.

SB 723 passed the Senate Floor unanimously and will now proceed to the Assembly for referral to policy committee.