California
State adds laws targeting ghost guns, sales to minors
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California, which already has some of the nation’s toughest gun laws, has added new restrictions on untraceable “ghost guns” and on marketing firearms to minors, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday.
“As the Supreme Court rolls back important gun safety protections and states across the country treat gun violence as inevitable, California is doubling down on commonsense gun safety measures that save lives,” Newsom said in a statement announcing that he had signed the two bills a day earlier.
Ghost guns, the privately made weapons without serial numbers, are increasingly being tied to violent crimes. Their proliferation has prompted President Joe Biden’s administration to come up with new regulations to crack down on them.
Under the new law, California now requires parts used to build firearms to have serial numbers, and gives Californians who have weapons without serial numbers until January 1, 2024, to register them and add the numbers.
Starting in January 2023, anyone convicted of manufacturing a firearm without a serial number, or aiding the manufacture of a firearm by a prohibited person, will be barred from possessing a firearm for 10 years.
“Ghost guns have wreaked havoc in communities all over the state and in particular have disproportionately affected the state’s Black and Brown residents,” said Kris Brown, president of Brady, a national gun control group.
But Sam Paredes, executive director of Gun Owners of California, said California lacks a clear definition of what constitutes a ghost gun kit. He predicted the new law will be overturned based on the tougher standard set last week by the U.S. Supreme Court in a landmark firearms ruling that said Americans have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense.
Newsom also barred marketing firearms to minors, with a civil penalty of up to $25,000 for each violation. It allows people harmed by violations to sue for damages.
The governor, a Democrat, also released a video blaming U.S. Supreme Court justices and right-wing Republicans for allowing what he called the “disgusting marketing” of “weapons of war.”
“Guns are not toys — they are deadly weapons,” said Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, who sought the restriction.
But Paredes fears the law endangers youth camps that include target shooting or firearms courses. It violates free speech, he said, predicting it also will be overturned.
The laws, which take effect immediately, are among more than a dozen gun control bills that legislators sent to Newsom before they left Thursday for a monthlong summer recess.
California
Google to erase more location info as abortion bans expand
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — Google will automatically purge information about users who visit abortion clinics or other places that could trigger legal problems now that the U.S. Supreme Court has opened the door for states to ban the termination of pregnancies.
The company behind the internet’s dominant internet search engine and the Android software that powers most of the world’s smartphones outlined the new privacy protections in a Friday blog post.
Besides automatically deleting visits to abortion clinics, Google also cited counseling centers, fertility centers, addiction treatment facilities, weight loss clinics, and cosmetic surgery clinics as other destinations that will be erased from users’ location histories. Users have always had the option edit their location histories on their own, but Google will proactively do it for them as an added level of protection.
“We’re committed to delivering robust privacy protections for people who use our products, and we will continue to look for new ways to strengthen and improve these protections,” Jen Fitzpatrick, a Google senior vice president, wrote in the blog post.
The pledge comes amid escalating pressure on Google and other Big Tech companies to do more to shield the troves of sensitive personal information through their digital services and products from government authorities and other outsiders.
The calls for more stringent privacy controls were triggered by the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion. That reversal could make abortion illegal in more than a dozen states, raising the specter that records about people’s location, texts, searches and emails could be used in prosecutions against abortion procedures or even for medical care sought in a miscarriage.
Like other technology companies, Google each year receives thousands of government demands for users’ digital records as part of misconduct investigations. Google says it pushes back against search warrants and other demands that are overly broad or appear to be baseless.
Iowa
Family of boy killed in Adventureland accident sues park
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The family of an 11-year old boy who died on a water ride at an Iowa amusement park a year ago filed a wrongful death lawsuit in state court Thursday, alleging the park failed to properly maintain and repair its rides.
David and Sabrina Jaramillo, of Cedar Rapids and three of their children David Jaramillo Jr., August Jaramillo and Nyla Pettie filed the lawsuit against Aventureland Park in the Des Moines suburb of Altoona.
They and 11-year old Michael Jaramillo were on the Raging River ride at the park on July 3, 2021, when the raft carrying all six family members flipped, trapping them beneath the water.
Michael Jaramillo drowned and other family members were injured.
The lawsuit alleges Adventureland failed for years to properly maintain and repair its rides, including the Raging River. The lawsuit claims the park continued to operate on the day of the accident despite reports of serious problems.
They seek unspecified monetary damages for negligence against the company that owned the park, Adventure Lands of America, its former CEO Michael Krantz and three managers.
Krantz is a member of the local family that owned the company that operated Adventureland since the 1970s. They sold the park and other affiliated assets late last year to Palace Entertainment, a subsidiary of Parques Reunidos, an international amusement park company based in Spain.
Court documents say Adventure Land is vicariously responsible for the actions of the men.
“All actions or failures to act by the stated officers and managers occurred during their employment by Adventure Land, and within the scope of their employment,” it says.
Guy R. Cook, the lawyer representing the defendants, said safety has always been the top priority for the amusement park.
“Sadly, the tragic accident was the result of a number of extraordinarily unusual factors coming together. The claims of lawsuit will be specifically addressed in future court filings,” he said.
