Gun Advocates Have Weeks To Collect Signatures To Challenge California Laws

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The clock is ticking for gun advocates to collect enough signatures to get their initiatives on the November ballot repealing the 6 gun control bills signed into law by Governor Brown.

"Two weeks to get the gun referenda qualified for November is going to be a challenge," said Dr. Mike Liddell who owns a business in El Dorado County.

Liddell is collecting signatures for another petition in addition to the gun initiatives. He wants to allow voters to be able go online and sign the petition changing the way they're currently collected.

"There's a specific format in the state to filing these petitions and it requires pen and paper signatures," he said.

Usually collecting signatures for ballot measures is time consuming and costly. This grassroots movement has less then three weeks and is relying solely on volunteers.

Many are fired up about the bills the governor signed into law.

"He's effectively made an Avenue for law abiding citizens to become criminals after these laws take effect," said Chuck Holland of El Dorado County.

Holland wants the voters to have a say and knows his community is the right place to collect as many signatures possible to repeal the gun laws.

"We need a chance to vote on it and that's with the The seven referenda will do and that will give people the chance to say yes or no and the people will have spoken," he said.

Some of those people have already spoken and they're supporting more gun control.

"If people are using them for hunting that's one thing, but we're not seen that. We're seeing violence and deaths and it's awful," said one county resident.

Many see this new statewide petition as a step in the wrong direction.

"I think the second amendment people and the NRA people are over stating your case. I think they tend to make it sound like doom and gloom, nobody is going to own a gun anymore, not so," said Joan Darling of El Dorado County.

To ensure the initiatives are on the November ballot, proponents will have to get 365,888 signatures before August 30. If they don't make the deadline, they have until the end of September to try and get in on another ballot in 2018. If they don't collect enough signatures by then, the referendum fails.