Gov. Newsom Signs Sen. Lena Gonzalez’s Bill to Restrict the Use of Military-Style Weapons in Protests and Immigration Enforcement

SACRAMENTO – On Sept. 29, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senator Lena Gonzalez’s (D-Long Beach) Senate Bill (SB) 937, marking a victory in the fight to protect our immigrant communities and neighbors exercising their civil rights.

The increased and indiscriminate use of military-style weapons against protestors and during immigration enforcement operations has resulted in serious injuries in California and nationwide. Despite being labeled as “less-lethal,” these weapons still pose significant risks of permanent, debilitating injuries and death to both users and targets. In 2025, a bystander at a Los Angeles protest was struck by a flash-bang, amputating his finger. In another incident, a mother and her two young children in Huntington Park were put in direct danger last year when federal agents used a charge to blow the door and windows off their home while they were inside.

In response to these and other incidents, SB 937 will protect communities by aligning the restrictions on flash-bang grenades for crowd control with restrictions for other “less lethal” weapons and prohibiting the use of flash-bangs and explosive breaching charges for immigration enforcement.

“I am grateful to Governor Newsom for recognizing the importance of this legislation, especially at a time when our communities are constantly under threat and many are afraid to leave their homes,” said Senator Lena Gonzalez. “SB 937 strengthens safeguards around the use of military-style weapons in California. Children, families, and protestors alike should have never been subjected to this egregious violence in the first place—and while we cannot take back what happened to my constituents and others across the state, we have a moral imperative to stop it from happening again.”

Signing SB 937 sends a clear message that protestors and immigrant communities in California cannot be continually subjected to the misuse of dangerous weapons and affirms the state’s commitment to accountability and transparency in law enforcement operations. Among other provisions, the bill will additionally require any use of a flash-bang to be documented on the Department of Justice’s public use-of-force database.

SB 937 will go into effect statewide on January 1, 2027.