The United States government shot down four unidentified foreign airborne objects in February. This has caused both foreign political issues and raised concerns about the intentions of the foreign governments who oversaw these objects.
Assembly member Devon Mathis, R-Visalia, a military veteran, authored Assembly Bill 475 to help prohibit certain foreign governments from accessing sensitive land in California.
Mathis sat down with “Inside the Issues” host Alex Cohen to talk about this piece of legislation, and why it’s necessary to help keep people safe.
AB 475 bars governments that have been deemed foreign prohibited actors from being able to purchase land within a 50-mile range of a U.S. military base.
“These are our adversaries and they don’t need to be able to buy property within 50 miles of bases,” Mathis said.
The bill comes after multiple foreign objects have been shot down across the country. Although dealing with foreign governments is more of a federal concern, Mathis notes this bill is about helping people work on bases without having to look over their shoulder.
“Anytime you have adversaries that are taking the steps to kind of break normal barriers, I mean we see stuff with Russia flying over Alaska, we see the things with the balloons, I think tensions are high right now,” Mathis said.
The goal for Mathis is to help the military personnel and their families, who live on the base, feel safe.
AB 475 allows countries such as Canada or Australia the ability to purchase land in any part of California.
Mathis acknowledged how the recent activity with China and the foreign objects comes at a time when Asian hate is on the rise in the country. This piece of legislation isn’t about singling out a certain country.
“This isn’t just a China thing, this is [sic] Russia, This is Syria, this is Azerbijan,” Mathis said. “These are countries that are not friendly to us and are very public about it.”
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