Posted on 05/16/2005 9:51:58 PM PDT by calcowgirl
STOCKTON - Could a number help police solve crimes and deter criminals?
Several weeks ago, Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Garden Grove, unveiled a bill proposing the serialization of all ammunition sold in California starting in July 2007.
The legislation, supported by California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland, is being hailed by supporters as a cost-effective way to prevent crimes and help law enforcement do its job. Opponents say the bill is rife with problems and will only increase costs to consumers and ammunition manufacturers.
The proposal would require vendors to sell ammunition with an identification number zapped on the bullet and casing, and buyers would have to register their purchase with the Office of the Attorney General. The intent is to aid police with investigations into gun crimes by tracing the number €" etched with a laser " to the buyer.
"This would help law enforcement identify and convict violent criminals and murderers by bringing DNA-type technology to the identifying of ammunition," said Jim Stevens, spokesman for Dunn.
Almost 2,400 people were murdered in California in 2003, and two-thirds of them were with guns, according to Griffin Dix, president of the California chapter of the Million Mom March, a national survivors-rights organization. But 45 percent of those cases are unsolved, according to Department of Justice statistics. In San Joaquin County, about 36 percent of homicide cases weren't solved in 2003.
The reason is that there often "isn't enough evidence to go on," said Dix, who lost his 15-year-old son to an unintentional shooting 11 years ago. "We think the bill would work to prevent gun violence and have a preventive effect by putting criminals in jail and keeping them there."
Stockton police said they weren't familiar with the bill, which will go to the Senate floor within a month. But some expressed doubt that a bullet identification system would be effective because many seasoned criminals pick up shell casings after a shooting to avoid leaving evidence.
"Any reasonable effort is appreciated, but it wouldn't take long before criminals figured out how to circumvent it," Stockton Police Chief Mark Herder said.
That's the same doubt the gun lobby has expressed, arguing that the bill, known as SB357, would strengthen the already burgeoning black market for guns.
"The notion that criminals will walk into a store and put down their identification and give their name is laughable," said Lawrence Keane, general counsel for the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute.
About 80 percent of crimes in the United States are committed with guns acquired through family or friends, stolen or bought on the black market, Keane said.
Prices also would be affected because serialization of the 8 billion cartridges that are produced each year would take significantly longer, Keane said.
"It (serialization) would take approximately three weeks to do what is now done in one day," he said, adding that the cartridges would take more time to produce, causing the price to jump to several dollars per cartridge.
Proponents say a half cent would be added to the cost of each bullet.
It also would cost about $50 for a shop owner to enter everyone who purchases ammunition into a Department of Justice database.
The measure has been publicly supported by numerous law enforcement officials, including Sacramento County Sheriff Lou Blanas and Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca.
There are hurdles along the way €" from the appropriations committee, where the bill is now, to the Senate floor, where supporters hope it arrives in a month.
Dix says he hopes California's track record of being the first state to ban Saturday night specials, short-barreled guns lacking safety features and assault weapons will bolster the bill's chance of success.
"We are not interested in taking people's guns away but in closing down the illegal gun market," Dix said. "It's much too easy for someone to get a gun."
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Gee, if the state was able to execute most of those on death row, many of whom used guns in the commissions of their crimes, maybe a deterrent effect would reduce numbers like the 2003 total.
Nyahhh. what was I thinking? The c'Rats want it both ways , always have, always will, to not be held accountable for coddling criminals but only too happy to make life hell for those left behind, in the name of the greater good.
If they executed them how would they get their vote in future elections?
This guy Joe Dunn is out of control. I hadn't seen him much before, but this is the third time he cropped up this week (reparations for Mexican deportations and Nixing the Constit'l Amendment defining marriage--click keyword above for articles). He needs to be replaced.... ASAP! LOL.
If all ammo had to be serial numbered, ammo prices would skyrocket while availability would plummet - just what gun grabbers dream of.
From what I understand of the bill, it will be illegal to possess ammunition that isn't serialized. I have no doubt that the senate will pass this travesty. Perhaps Arnold will veto it.
I live in California. I buy all my ammunition from out of state via the Internet.
The proposal would require vendors to sell ammunition with an identification number zapped on the bullet and casing, and buyers would have to register their purchase with the Office of the Attorney General.
What a kick azz idea! I bet if they put numbers on guns the firearm related crime would vanish... right?
< /idt >
No it won't.
The entreprenure in me will crank up his reloading press and ship ammo into CA from my website... and CA can suck wind.
This will only effect businesses that are stupid enough to still be located in the Peoples Republic.
I think any legislator sponsoring stupid gun control schemes should have the bill number permanently tattoo'd to their forehead. So when they cross the line we'll know who to shoot first.
Aren't serial numbers and registration great?
perhaps Arnold will veto it..
being part of the kennedy clan which has been the target of firearms more than once, somehow , I am not so sure.
He did veto the bullet tax last year ( .10 per round), which was helpful, but he signed the .50BMG ban, so ya never know.
Just like cigarettes?
And were seeing how much of a unknown person you are and well that works. Guess what Internet purchases are the next target?
let's hope he has a new shipment of veto pens and cigars ready to go, the sheer number of bills that will be crossing his desk this year will be ginormous.
The cost of those shipments will increase dramatically or those shipments will halt immediately if this bill passes. Manufacturers may not be willing to incur the cost to comply with this bill and if they do, they will pass it on to the users. The bill is nothing but a thinly veiled attempt by the grabbers to eliminate ammunition coming into the state.
8 billion? That would require, mmmmmm, ten digits. Plus two for the year, I suppose. Maybe one more, to allow for production to reach ten billion.
Thirteen unique id digits. That gonna fit on a .22 short...???
Too many people are not only willing to live in a police state but actually WANT to love in a police state.
Uh, no. That's why they will require all ammunition produced to be .50 BMG... just think of the brilliance... the serial number will fit... and the serial number will never get disfigured by firing because all .50BMG firearms are illegal!
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