SB948 adds new requirements for California firearm-safety certificates. Beginning January 1, 2029, applicants generally must complete at least four hours of firearm training, including live-fire exercises, safe handling, storage, transportation, self-defense law, and other state firearm laws. Certain recent concealed-carry-permit holders are exempt. It also requires people moving firearms into California to obtain a valid firearm-safety certificate within 180 days and, beginning in 2028, certify that compliance when reporting imported firearms to the state.
The California State Senate passed SB948 on August 25, 2026 by a vote of 28 to 12. We have assigned pluses to the nays because the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution explicitly states that "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." By requiring additional government-mandated training and certification before individuals may lawfully exercise that right, SB948 imposes further barriers on the constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms and conflicts with the protections recognized by the Fifth, Ninth, and 14th Amendments.
