2016 Election: Yes on Proposition 63
(Kelly Brennan/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Editorial Board
Nov. 3, 2016 3:05 a.m.
Gun violence is a given in the U.S. Even our own campus caught a glimpse of it last June.
But Proposition 63 could help fight gun violence by introducing reasonable gun regulations to make California safer and strengthening existing measures to keep guns out of dangerous hands.
Proposition 63 extends the ban on large-capacity magazines and requires individuals to have a permit in order to purchase ammunition. It also makes gun theft a felony and requires gun owners report lost or stolen firearms. The proposition would also implement procedures to make sure felons and other individuals barred from owning firearms either sell their weapons or turn them over to law enforcement authorities.
As of September, there were more than 300 mass shootings in the United States and more than 30 in California this past year. While the measures brought about in this proposition will not by any means end the epidemic of mass shootings, it will go a long way in helping to address it, and hopefully prevent similar tragedies in the future.
For example, the proposition’s ban on high-capacity magazines can help reduce casualties in mass shootings, and the permit requirement for buying ammunition will help prevent ammunition from going to dangerous individuals. The proposition’s provisions on gun theft will help fight gun trafficking and the procedures to force individuals convicted of certain crimes to give up their weapons will help reduce violent crime. We can all agree that these measures will help improve public safety while still respecting the constitutional rights of gun owners.
Americans remain divided on the Second Amendment and whether certain forms of gun control are constitutional. However, while we continue to debate this matter, thousands of Americans die from gun violence every year. California has always led the nation in practical gun laws and by voting in favor of this proposition, Californians would continue to ensure that our state remains a role model for effective gun control.
As such, the board strongly endorses Proposition 63.
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