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“I'm a gun guy,” Thompson said during a recent meeting with The Press Democrat Editorial Board. “I'm not going to give my guns up, and I don't expect anybody else to have to do that.”
"This legislation will help fix our broken immigration system that unnecessarily burdens active-duty service members, veterans who honorably served our nation and military families," Thompson, who represents part of Lake County, stated.
Other states would be urged to emulate California's system for seizing firearms from people who are no longer legally allowed to own them, under a bill unveiled Wednesday by two Bay Area House members.
But California's program is predicated on registration of certain firearms -- something most states don't do and are loath to consider.
Other states would be urged to emulate California's system for seizing firearms from people who are no longer legally allowed to own them, under a bill unveiled Wednesday by two Bay Area House members.
But California's program is predicated on registration of certain firearms -- something most states don't do and are loath to consider.
Expanded background checks and a ban on high-capacity magazines have been all the talk in the push for gun control after the Newtown, Conn., schoolhouse massacre, but Rep. Mike Thompson said there should also be a discussion of paying states to take guns away from criminals and the dangerously mentally ill who are prohibited from owning them.
This week, Thompson introduced a bill that would do just that.
Offered by Reps. Mike Thompson (Calif.) and Jackie Speier (Calif.), the proposal would provide federal grant money to states that launch programs to remove guns from those who buy them legally but later forfeit their ownership rights by either committing a crime or being deemed severely mentally ill.
The lawmakers said the bill will bolster public safety without trampling on constitutional freedoms.
HOST: A California gun control law that's been on the books for more than a decade could become a national model. Jacob Fenston reports a North Bay Congressman introduced the legislation Wednesday in Washington.
JACOB FENSTON: There are thousands of illegal guns that government agencies have the data to track down, but they lack the resources to sort through that data. California Attorney General Kamala Harris explains it's all about lists.
KAMALA HARRIS: "It is the list of those who have registered to own a gun, and then comparing that to two other lists."
Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-05), chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, and task force vice-chair Jackie Speier (CA-14) have introduced H.R. 848, the Armed Prohibited Persons Act of 2013.
This legislation will help states launch initiatives to remove guns from the hands of convicted criminals and the dangerously mentally ill.
The bill would create a competitive grant program in the U.S. Department of Justice that would offer funding to states that create their own armed-prohibited programs, according to a news release from Thompson's office.