California has the strongest gun control laws in the country, according to an annual ranking of states by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. California scored eighty-one points out of a possible one-hundred. Amanda Wilcox is the Legislation and Policy Chair for the state Chapter of the Brady Campaign. She said the policy covering background checks on gun sales is notable, as are other rules limiting gun ownership.
“What is very unusual is that California also has a program by which we can remove guns, recover guns from people who have a gun and then subsequently become prohibited or dangerous,” said Wilcox.
The national Brady organization also noted a new law that will require California to keep records on long gun purchases, in addition to records kept for handgun sales.
Other states placing high in the Brady Campaign rankings were New Jersey and New York. The lowest ranking states, with scores of “zero” were Alaska, Arizona and Utah.
In response to the Brady Campaign’s report, the group Gun Owners of California said “these laws suppress the rights of law abiding gun owners, and criminals continue to be able to get whatever they want.”
