Sacramento – On Tuesday, March 25, 2008, the California State Assembly Public Safety Committee overwhelmingly approved a school safety measure authored by Assembly Member Karnette (D – Long Beach).  Assembly Bill 2470 seeks to close a loophole in the state’s current school weapons prohibition law that allows BB and pellet guns on college and university campuses.

“Several instances of gun violence on college campuses in recent years have put students and campus police on high alert,” Karnette said.  “BB and pellet guns look just like ‘real’ guns and will immediately illicit the same response from students and campus police that the possession of a ‘real’ gun would cause.”

While current law prohibits the possession of these guns on K-12 school campuses, it is legal to possess them on college campuses despite the fact that they have been used in crimes at those higher education institutions. The sponsor, the California College and University Police Chiefs Association, has reported that BB and pellet guns have been used in numerous on-campus crimes, including vandalism and the firing of these weapons at officers and students. 

“I’ve authored AB 2470 to ensure that students, faculty and the overall campus community are provided with a safe, gun-free learning environment,” said Karnette.  “There’s no place in our schools for any weapon that can cause injury, vandalism or a potentially violent disruption that puts our students’ lives at risk.”

Assembly Bill 2470 is supported by the California College and University Police Chiefs Association, University of California, California State University Long Beach University Police, California State University East Bay University Police, Loma Linda University Health Services Department of Security, West Valley-Mission College District Police, Nava Valley College Police Department and the Westmont College Director of Public Safety.