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California considering raising legal age for buying firearms to 21

New gun control bills making their way through the California legislature aim to tighten the state's already stringent gun laws. One particular bill garnering a lot of attention would raise the legal age of purchasing firearms from 18 to 21.

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California gun laws are already some of the strictest in the nation.

And they could be getting stricter.

State lawmakers have until the end of next week to pass five gun control bills. One of the bills, SB-1100, would raise the age to purchase all guns from 18 to 21 years old. The law currently says people must be 21 to buy a handgun.

Florida passed a similar law earlier this year in response to the Parkland school shooting. Hours after it passed, the NRA filed a federal lawsuit hoping to block it. Proponents of the bill say it could help prevent schools shootings, while people against it make the argument that if someone is old enough to join the military, they should be old enough to buy a gun.

A second bill, SB-1177, would prohibit people from buying more than one gun within a 30-day span. Right now, there's only a restriction like that on handguns. A third bill, SB-3129, would place a lifetime ban on owning guns on anyone convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence.

A fourth bill, SB-2888, would allow more than just immediate family and law enforcement to file a gun violence restraining orders. The bill would expand the list of people to co-workers, employers, high schools and colleges. Those in favor of this bill say it will help identify people who could potentially commit crimes. Those against the bill say it opens the door for people to make unfounded accusations against others, who would then lose their guns.

The fifth bill, SB-1968, would ban anyone who is involuntarily admitted to a facility for a mental health disorder, more than once in a year, from ever owning guns. It's not only pro-gun groups that oppose this bill. Some civil rights organizations say it could stigmatize people with mental illnesses.

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