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Vice-Mayor Rebecca Kaplan Advocates for H.R. 7910 Following Oakland Youth Rally Demanding Gun Control

Oakland’s Vice-Mayor Rebecca Kaplan said her research has shown that “ghost guns” account for 30% of guns recovered in California. Although these guns function and cause harm like traditional guns, their manufacturers and retailers are largely unregulated.

Published

2 years ago

June 18, 2022

Oakland Post

Oakland’s Vice-Mayor Rebecca Kaplan

Oakland’s Vice-Mayor Rebecca Kaplan has asked her colleagues on the City Council to join her in uplifting the voices of Oakland youth leaders and the community to join with her to call on Congress to take immediate action to impose common-sense gun control laws. The Rules and Legislation Committee voted to approve the scheduling of Kaplan’s item for the July 5, 2022, City Council Meeting.

Kaplan’s resolution would declare the City of Oakland’s support of House Resolution 7910 (Nadler), the “Protecting Our Kids Act,” and calls upon the California Congressional Delegation to endorse the bill and advocate for its passage in Congress.

Kaplan said. “The City of Oakland has enacted some of the strongest firearms safety laws in California and has a compelling interest in protecting its residents from gun violence. However, Oakland’s strong gun violence prevention laws are being undermined by weak national and neighbor state gun laws, illegal gun trafficking, and ghost guns – firearms constructed with component parts that can be obtained anonymously and without a background check. When these firearms, ghost guns, are recovered at crime scenes, they cannot be traced due to the lack of a serial number. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).”

Kaplan said her research has shown that “ghost guns” account for 30% of guns recovered in California. Although these guns function and cause harm like traditional guns, their manufacturers and retailers are largely unregulated.

The ‘‘Protecting Our Kids Act’’ is a comprehensive federal bill that contains numerous measures focused on addressing gun violence, gun safety, responsible gun ownership, regulation of certain firearms and components, gun trafficking, and public safety. H.R. 7910 would employ a variety of strategies to effectively reduce gun violence across the country by:

Prohibiting the sale or transfer of certain semiautomatic firearms to people under 21 years of age;
Prohibition on straw purchases of firearms;
Prohibition on gun trafficking;
Establishing a federal statutory framework to regulate ghost guns;
Establishing a framework to regulate the storage of firearms on residential premises at the federal, state, and tribal levels;
Subjecting bump stocks to regulation under federal firearms laws;
Generally, prohibiting the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, and possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices; and
Requiring the Department of Justice to report on the demographic data of persons who are determined to be ineligible to purchase a firearm based on a background check performed by the national instant criminal background check system.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

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2 days ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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1 week ago

April 19, 2024

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Oakland Schools Honor Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice. His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.

Published

1 week ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

Fred Korematsu. Courtesy of OUSD.

By Post Staff

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice.

His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.
One OUSD school is named in his honor: Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy (KDA) elementary in East Oakland.

Several years ago, founding KDA Principal Charles Wilson, in a video interview with anti-hate organization “Not In Our Town,” said, “We chose the name Fred Korematsu because we really felt like the attributes that he showed in his work are things that the children need to learn … that common people can stand up and make differences in a large number of people’s lives.”

Fred Korematsu was born in Oakland on Jan. 30, 1919. His parents ran a floral nursery business, and his upbringing in Oakland shaped his worldview. His belief in the importance of standing up for your rights and the rights of others, regardless of race or background, was the foundation for his activism against racial prejudice and for the rights of Japanese Americans during World War II.

At the start of the war, Korematsu was turned away from enlisting in the National Guard and the Coast Guard because of his race. He trained as a welder, working at the docks in Oakland, but was fired after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Fear and prejudice led to federal Executive Order 9066, which forced more than 120,000 Japanese Americans out of their homes and neighborhoods and into remote internment camps.

The 23-year-old Korematsu resisted the order. He underwent cosmetic surgery and assumed a false identity, choosing freedom over unjust imprisonment. His later arrest and conviction sparked a legal battle that would challenge the foundation of civil liberties in America.

Korematsu’s fight culminated in the Supreme Court’s initial ruling against him in 1944. He spent years in a Utah internment camp with his family, followed by time living in Salt Lake City where he was dogged by racism.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford overturned Executive Order 9066. Seven years later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco vacated Korematsu’s conviction. He said in court, “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.”

Korematsu’s dedication and determination established him as a national icon of civil rights and social justice. He advocated for justice with Rosa Parks. In 1998, President Bill Clinton gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom saying, “In the long history of our country’s constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls … To that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred Korematsu.”

After Sept. 11, 2001, Korematsu spoke out against hatred and discrimination, saying what happened to Japanese Americans should not happen to people of Middle Eastern descent.
Korematsu’s roots in Oakland and his education in OUSD are a source of great pride for the city, according to the school district. His most famous quote, which is on the Korematsu elementary school mural, is as relevant now as ever, “If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up.”