Podcast: California's gun control wars sway the U.S.

LA Times
·1 min read
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, to introduce legislation on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition feeding devices. Congressional Democrats are reintroducing legislation to ban assault weapons but the measure faces long odds even after last month's mass school shooting in Newtown, Conn. The measure being unveiled Thursday is authored by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who wrote the original assault weapons ban. That law expired in 2004 when Congress refused to renew it under pressure from the National Rifle Association. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Today we talk about California's huge role in influencing gun control laws in the U.S. and about the backlashes. We discuss the state's historic 1989 ban on assault weapons and why a federal judge recently issued an order to overturn that ban. And we talk to the mayor of San Jose, who wants his city to be the first in the United States to require gun owners to buy liability insurance. Gun rights advocates are already threatening a lawsuit.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times California Legislature reporter Patrick McGreevy and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo

More reading:

California’s long history on assault weapons on the line in court battle

The judge upending California’s gun laws: ‘Blessed’ jurist or ‘stone-cold ideologue’?

Biden huddles with local officials over gun violence as ownership rises

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.