MADERA, CA –-(Ammoland.com)- California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees has published its mid-term grades for all California Senators and Assembly Members, the organization noted on Tuesday.
Its findings are based on a comprehensive evaluation of firearms-area bills and resolutions since the beginning of the 2013 legislative year.
“This has been an unprecedented political year for guns and gun rights,” said Craig DeLuz, CAL-FFL’s Legislative Advocate. “We wanted to offer substantive feedback to the members so they have something to consider when they come back from their summer break.”
To evaluate the members’ records, CAL-FFL recorded substantive, non-procedural actions taken by every member on all tracked bills at every legislative step; a point value was applied to each action and a decimal grade derived from total points and voting opportunities. CAL-FFL’s approach applied “extra credit” — positive or negative — to the members’ authorship of tracked bills.
“We felt it was important to show that authoring bills we track, like SB 140 and AB 871, can really affect a member’s grade in a measurable way,” explained CAL-FFL president Brandon Combs. “Hopefully, the members will see these grades as a tool they can use to consider their dedication to our civil rights and the Constitution they swore to uphold.”
Some of the interesting findings from the evaluation:
- 36% of Senate Republicans failed to score above “C”.
- Assemblymember Tim Donnelly (R – Hesperia) ranked first among all Senate and Assembly members.
- Assemblymember Beth Gaines (R – Roseville) outscored husband Senator Ted Gaines (R – Roseville).
- Senator Joel Anderson (R – San Diego), author of a recent pro-gun op-ed in the Press-Enterprise entitled “Speak up and defend California gun rights”, only scored a middle-of-the-road “C”.
- Senator Lou Correa (D – Santa Ana) was the highest-ranking Senate Democrat.
- Assemblymembers Rudy Salas Jr. (D – Bakersfield) and Steve Fox (D – Antelope) were tied as the best-performing Assembly Democrats with identical “B” grades.
- Central Valley Senator Anthony Cannella (R – Ceres) was the only Republican to score an “F”.
- Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D – San Francisco) bookended the list of members who scored negative points, with Senators Mark Leno (D – San Mateo), Leland Yee (D – San Francisco), and Darrell Steinberg (D – Sacramento) on the lowest-ranking end.
- Senate pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, driver of the so-called “LIFE Act” package of gun control bills, ranked last among all Senate and Assembly members.
CAL-FFL will recognize the best and worst-performing members of the California Legislature at the end of the year.
The complete grades can be viewed at https://www.calffl.org/grades/year-2013/2013-mid-term-grades.
California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees is California’s premier non-profit industry association of, by, and for firearms manufacturers, dealers, collectors, training professionals, shooting ranges, and others, advancing the interests of its members and the general public through strategic litigation, legislative efforts, and education. For more information or to join CAL-FFL, please visit calffl.org.