Gov. Gavin Newsom Tuesday signed legislation by Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, restricting the use of flash-bang grenades for crowd control and prohibiting the use of flash-bangs and explosive breaching charges for immigration enforcement in California.
Senate Bill 937 will take effect Jan. 1, 2027. The measure also requires the use of flash-bang grenades to be documented in the California Department of Justice’s public use-of-force database.
The legislation aligns restrictions on the use of flash-bang grenades for crowd control with existing restrictions on other less-lethal weapons, according to Gonzalez’s office.
“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,” Gonzalez said.
“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.”
Gonzalez introduced the bill following incidents involving the use of flash-bangs and explosive breaching devices during protests and immigration enforcement operations.
Her office cited a 2025 incident in which a bystander at a Los Angeles protest lost a finger after being struck by a flash-bang, as well as an incident in Huntington Park in which federal agents used an explosive charge to breach a home while a mother and her two young children were inside.
“We are thrilled that SB 937, which protects public safety and safeguards the civil rights of communities across California, has been signed into law,” Shayna Englin, vice president of policy and advocacy for the California Community Foundation, said. “By establishing common-sense rules for the use of flash-bang grenades and explosive breaching charges, this law takes important steps forward. We are grateful for Senator Gonzalez’s leadership, and we look forward to continuing to work together to further strengthen community safety for all Californians.”
Chloe Hermosillo, government affairs manager for the California Immigrant Policy Center, also praised the signing.
“California families and communities deserve protection from military-style weapons in their neighborhoods. These weapons endanger the health, safety, and rights of Californians,” Hermosillo said.