CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

99

Introduced by Assembly Member McKinnor

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Bonta)

May 11, 2026

Relative to gun violence.

Fiscal committee: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

This measure would commend President Donald J. Trump for specified comments relating to gun violence and call upon Congress to support legislation and necessary constitutional amendments to end gun violence, as specified.

WHEREAS, Every day, more than 110 Americans are killed by gun violence, alongside more than 200 who are shot and wounded, and on average there are nearly 16,000 gun homicides every year; and

WHEREAS, Americans are 26 times more likely to die by gun homicide than people in other high-income countries; and

WHEREAS, California has 3,160 gun deaths every year, with a rate of 7.8 deaths per 100,000 people. California has the 45th highest rate of gun deaths in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Firearms are now the leading cause of death for children in the United States; and

WHEREAS, The United States Department of Justice reported that there were 22 domestic mass shooting events in 2017, 24 domestic mass shooting events in 2018, 23 domestic mass shooting events in 2019, 12 domestic mass shooting events in 2020, and 20 domestic mass shooting events in 2025; and

WHEREAS, Between the years of 2017 and 2025, none of these mass shooting events motivated President Donald J. Trump to end the gun violence epidemic in the United States; and

WHEREAS, On January 6, 2021, a mob of rioters, including at least five individuals carrying or possessing a firearm, attacked the United States Capitol in Washington, DC, in an attempt to disrupt the certification of the 2020 presidential election results and prevent then president-elect Joe Biden from taking office; and

WHEREAS, The attempted insurrection at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, did not motivate President Donald J. Trump to end the gun violence epidemic in the United States; and

WHEREAS, On July 13, 2024, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump was injured from an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS, The attempted assassination of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump on July 13, 2024, did not motivate President Donald Trump to end the gun violence epidemic in the United States; and

WHEREAS, On September 15, 2024, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump was not injured from an assassination attempt in West Palm Beach, Florida; and

WHEREAS, The attempted assassination of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump on September 15, 2024, did not motivate President Donald Trump to end the gun violence epidemic in the United States; and

WHEREAS, On April 25, 2026, President Donald Trump was not injured from an assassination attempt in Washington, DC; and

WHEREAS, The attempted assassination of President Donald Trump on April 25, 2026, did not motivate President Donald Trump to end the gun violence epidemic in the United States; and

WHEREAS, While the United States Supreme Court has long protected a person’s constitutional right to own firearms, the New York Times published an interview with President Donald Trump on January 8, 2026, in which the president was asked what he believed the limits of his presidential power were, stating, “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me”; and

WHEREAS, On January 24, 2026, Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a White American citizen 37 years of age, intensive care nurse for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and legal gun owner, was shot 10 times and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while expressing his constitutional right to free speech; and

WHEREAS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were not justified in killing Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a White American citizen 37 years of age, intensive care nurse for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and legal gun owner, when he was shot 10 times while expressing his constitutional right to free speech; and

WHEREAS, On January 24, 2026, Alex Jeffrey Pretti was in legal possession of a firearm and ammunition at the time he was disarmed and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents; and

WHEREAS, On January 26, 2026, President Donald Trump made additional comments about the killing of Alex Jeffrey Pretti by stating, “Certainly he shouldn’t have been carrying a gun. I don’t like that he had a gun. I don’t like that he had two fully loaded magazines. That’s a lot of bad stuff”; and

WHEREAS, On January 27, 2026, in response to the death of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, President Donald Trump spoke from the South Lawn of the White House, stating, in part, “You can’t have guns... You just can’t... you can’t do that”; and

WHEREAS, President Donald Trump has rewritten the national Republican Party in his own image to fulfill his own policy and political agenda; and

WHEREAS, Republican members of Congress, Republican state legislators, Republican local elected officials, and Republican candidates have faced the wrath of President Donald Trump for not supporting his policy agenda; and

WHEREAS, It is consistent with historical precedent for Republican legislators to support the gun policy decisions of President Donald Trump; and

WHEREAS, President Donald J. Trump’s January 27, 2026, statement saying, in part, “You can’t have guns... You just can’t... you can’t do that,” is the strongest, clearest statement of his presidency, and the strongest statement of any president in United States history, to end gun violence in our nation; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California commends President Donald J. Trump for taking the most decisive action of his presidency to end gun violence by declaring, in part, “You can’t have guns... You just can’t... you can’t do that”; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature of the State of California calls upon Republican members of Congress to fulfill the policy objectives of President Donald Trump to end gun violence by authoring and supporting legislation and necessary constitutional amendments so that, as President Trump said, in part, “You can’t have guns... You just can’t... you can’t do that”; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each senator and representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution.