Protection Orders, Gun Training, and 3D Printing Laws Among Gun Bills Signed by California Governor

Gavin Newsom signed another stack of gun bills this week, and the press releases all read like victory laps for public safety. Then you look at what's actually inside. The new laws expand gun violence restraining orders, pile more training requirements onto permit holders, and create new crimes around 3D-printed firearm files. Each one has a reasonable-sounding title. The reality is a bit less polite.

Take those protective orders. They allow a judge to strip someone's firearms based on accusations, not convictions. No one has to be charged with a crime. A bitter ex or a worried neighbor can set the process in motion, and then it's the gun owner's job to prove they're not dangerous. That's not public safety. That's a privilege system dressed up as due process. California already makes legal gun ownership expensive and slow. This just makes it easier to take what's left.

The training mandate is more of the same. Lawful carriers already jump through state-approved classes, live-fire tests, and background checks. Another course won't stop a man with a stolen handgun from driving into a school parking lot. And the 3D printing law? It goes after files and software diagrams. The hobbyist who downloads a design is easier to regulate than the gang member who gets a ghost gun from a friend of a friend. That's not a strategy, that's making laws for the people who obey them.

Newsom talks like every one of these bills will save a life. Maybe he believes that. But the effect is predictable: honest Californians have fewer ways to defend themselves, and the criminals don't notice a thing. This isn't courage. It's politics with a body count. We'll wait for the state's next crisis to prove it again.