On Thursday, the California state legislature passed a series of legislation described as  the most ambitious action ever taken to protect communities from gun violence. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the legislation includes nearly a dozen bills designed to protect the state s communities from devastating acts of violence like the mass shooting that occurred in San Bernardino in December of 2015. The attack, which left 14 people dead and another 22 injured, was the second worst mass shooting in California history.In response to the shooting, democratic lawmakers passed a comprehensive series of bills designed to reduce gun violence.A total of eleven bills were passed. Not surprisingly, nearly all of them were passed without support from republican members of the state legislature.The package included a bill which requires people selling ammunition to obtain a license, as well as mandatory background checks for those purchasing ammunition.Another bill outlaws the manufacture and sale of semiautomatic rifles with detachable magazines. SB1446 would ban magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.The only bill to gain republican support, AB1176, would make it a felony to steal a gun or purchase a stolen gun, regardless of the value of the weapon. Under current state law the felony charge of  Grand Theft Firearm  only applies to stolen guns that are valued at $950 or more.Other measures require owners of homemade guns to obtain a serial number and register such guns with the state, and mandate that owners of lost and stolen guns report the theft to the police within five days of discovering a missing firearm.While the legislation still has to wind its way through the state house for approval, the Los Angeles Times reports that special measures have been taken to try to get the bills approved before June.If the bills fail to pass the House before that time, voters will likely have the opportunity to approve the same measures through a 2016 ballot initiative.California is leading the way in common sense gun control legislation. In spite of NRA propaganda, these measures are not  the first steps toward the government taking away everyone s guns. The bills approved by the California Senate are good examples of sane gun-control legislation. This kind of legislation is both reasonable and necessary.No one is naive enough to think that these measures will prevent all incidents of gun violence. On the other hand, few people are stupid enough to think that doing nothing about America s epidemic of gun violence is a reasonable response to the problem. Featured image via  wikipedia public domain 