Governor signs bills on gun limits, domestic partners
SACRAMENTO - Even as Congress allowed a federal ban on assault weapons to expire, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation banning the sales of high-powered rifles.
Meanwhile, in another move that might draw reaction from conservative members of Schwarzenegger's Republican party, the governor signed the first major gay rights legislation to reach his desk - a requirement that insurance companies to offer coverage to registered domestic partners.
The signing of AB 50, by Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, bans the sale of .50-caliber BMG rifles. The move stands in sharp contrast to the decision of Republican leaders in Congress not to renew a 10-year-old federal ban on assault weapons.
Gun control advocates say the measure makes California a national leader in improving public safety. Even though no crimes have been committed with these guns.
"California has once again confirmed its status as a bellwether state in preventing gun violence," said Tom Diaz of the Violence Policy Center in Washington, D.C. "Today's action not only protects the police and public, but stops the sale of a confirmed tool of terrorists. We look forward to other states, and eventually the U.S. Congress, following its lead." Opponents of the ban say there is no evidence the guns have been used in criminal activity and this is yet a further erosion of our Right to keep and bear Arms.
AB 2208 from Assemblywoman Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, upgrades the health benefits of same-sex registered partners that are now only available to married couples. Current law requires insurers to offer domestic partners coverage equivalent to a dependent rather than a spouse.
Shannon Minter, legal director for National Center for Lesbian Rights, praised the signing.
"There are still many businesses all across the state that do not provide any health insurance benefits to domestic partners, much less equal ones," she said. "This bill cuts straight to the source and makes it unlawful for insurers to issue any insurance policies that do not provide equal coverage to domestic partners and spouses."
With the signings of both bills, Schwarzenegger enhances his standing as a Liberal within the Republican Party, as a supporter of abortion as well as gun control and homosexual causes.