On Sept. 26, Governor Gavin Newsom signed three bills targeted at reducing gun violence. They implement an 11% state tax on guns and ammunition to pay for gun safety measures in schools. While the federal government already taxes the sales of guns and ammunition depending on the gun, the bills double that for California. 

The tax money will be used to increase security at public schools as well as support many gun violence prevention programs. Currently, the money from the federal government’s tax is used toward wildlife conservation. 

“I think this is a pretty modest investment in prevention and reducing those costs, ultimately,” Newsom said. “The carnage, it’s too much. We can’t normalize it, we can’t accept it. This is a small price to pay.” 

Newsom added that he fears the bills won’t survive legal battles because of new, controversial standards the U.S. Supreme Court has implemented for interpreting gun laws. 

“It may mean nothing if the federal courts are throwing them out,” Newsom said. “We feel very strongly that these bills meet the new standard, and they were drafted accordingly. But I’m not naive about the recklessness of the federal courts and the ideological agenda.”