California Firearm “Marketing” Bill Up in Committee Next Week

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Anti-gun Measure Likely to Ensnare and Prohibit Hunter Education and Firearm Safety Training for Youth.

On April 19, the California Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee will hear Assembly Bill 2571, a bill to prohibit “marketing” firearms and ammunition to children. This broadly written bill will cover any medium, including what is seen or read in movies, video games, online or in print. There is no exception in the bill for education.

“Marketing” is defined in the bill as communication “about a product or service the primary purpose of which is to encourage recipients of the communication to purchase or use the product or service.” For anyone who understands hunter education and/or firearm safety training, these activities meet the precise definition of the bill by training a person to safety use firearms.

Whatever the intent of the proponents, this draconian measure will have far-reaching effects if it passes and becomes law. If young Californians can no longer learn firearm safety through printed or online curriculum offered in hunter education, how can they become responsible users of firearms in the future?

Moreover, the legislation is likely to have significant chilling effects on the sale of shotguns and rifles specifically designed for physically smaller shooters because these will be classified as particularly attractive to youth.

“This is dangerous legislation that takes hunter education and firearm safety training off the table in California,” said Dillon Barto, manager of state services at the Sportsmen’s Alliance. “The bill sponsors shouldn’t be worshipping anti-gun and anti-hunting dogma over firearm safety.”

California sportsmen who want to protect youth firearm safety programs should contact members of the House Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee. Emails should be sent to:

About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research.  Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.