Next Tuesday, April 18 at 1:30 p.m., the Assembly Human Services Committee will hold a hearing on Assembly Bill 262, a bill to require the California Department of Social Services to establish a “stakeholder group” to develop new regulations for youth camps, with a particular emphasis on camps that include firearm safety on “gun ranges” as dangerous and in need of additional regulation and scrutiny.

Among the groups cited for inclusion in the “stakeholder group” are “children’s advocates and safety groups.” There can be little doubt this will include gun-control organizations that often promote their anti-gun ideology as “gun safety.” Last year, Gov. Newsom signed AB 2571 in the name of “child safety,” putting at risk firearm and hunter safety programs across California, a law that remains under challenge by the Sportsmen’s Alliance and other hunting and conservation organizations in federal court.

In addition to “safety groups,” AB 262 includes a laundry list of other entities that will be included in developing regulations and standards for camps that partake in shooting activities on gun ranges. The State Fire Marshall, the Dept. of Public Health, the Dept. of Parks and Recreation and even local health departments are mentioned. Strangely, however, among the 13 listed entities, no mention is made of groups that have expertise in firearm safety training, even though “gun ranges” are mentioned specifically.

“We warned last year that AB 2571 was just the beginning of a new push by anti-gun politicians who want to cancel the recruitment of new hunters at any cost,” said Todd Adkins, vice president of government affairs at the Sportsmen’s Alliance. “Now we have this bill that is an open invitation for public health officials to regulate youth hunting camps into oblivion. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how to connect these dots.”

Please use our Take Action button below to email the members of the committee and urge them to OPPOSE AB 262. Our children, our future, deserve to receive the best instruction regarding firearm safety and AB 262 does not do that.

Don’t forget to share this alert with your family, friends and fellow sportsmen and ask them to also contact the committee to OPPOSE AB 262.

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.