Posted on 09/11/2007 11:58:06 AM PDT by neverdem
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
SACRAMENTO – The Assembly sent the governor a bill yesterday requiring that the next generation of semiautomatic handguns stamp identifying serial numbers on spent shell casings.
The legislation that would establish the first law of its kind in the nation could have a lasting impact on the war on crime, according to backers. But the limited application of the bill does not figure to be felt for several years.
The bill covers only new models or brands of semiautomatic handguns approved for sale in the state after Jan. 1, 2010. That excludes nearly 1,300 different semiautomatics already sold in the state. Revolvers, which do not discharge shell casings, also are not covered.
Nonetheless, supporters said tagging microscopic codes on ammunition fired from the guns of choice for gang members and violent criminals could prove invaluable to law enforcement.
“Chiefs of police from Stockton to San Diego, from Fresno to National City, 65 of them standing together in support of this bill because they see the potential to solve gun crime,” said Assemblyman Mike Feuer, a Los Angeles Democrat who carried the measure, AB 1471.
Feuer said the bill is being watched across the country, all the way to Washington, D.C., where Congress is weighing a similar proposal.
But in a passionate debate between gun-control Democrats and gun-rights Republicans, critics dismissed the technology as unreliable, expensive and easily thwarted. They warned that it would drive up the price of guns and drive manufacturers out of the state.
“There is nothing like this is any other state, and no other state is seriously considering this because they know it doesn't work,” said Lawrence Keane, general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Council, an industry trade association.
The Assembly approved the bill on a 43-29 vote that fell largely along party lines. The Senate narrowly passed the bill last week. All involved are now closely watching for a signal from Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has taken no position on the bill.
Gun-control backers have been pushing the concept, known as microstamping, for several years as an alternative to ballistic imaging, a much more complex system that relies on individual markings on bullets.
Feuer attempted to shift the debate away from the traditional gun-control rhetoric, insisting his bill would not restrict anyone's access or ability to use firearms.
“This is not a gun-control measure,” he said. “This is a public-safety measure.”
The legislation would require new semiautomatics to be manufactured with firing pins or some other internal part etched with an individual serial number. Feuer said gun makers have said the identifying parts can be added for as little as $1 per gun.
But Keane said it would require an overhaul of the manufacturing process and add up to $200 per gun. After all that, the internal code could be easily sanded off.
Feuer staged a demonstration of the technology last month for journalists and some of Los Angeles' ranking law enforcement officials. The test used a microstamped weapon that had been fired more than 2,600 times.
“Everyone there could determine which gun fired the bullets,” Feuer said.
More than 60 percent of homicides in California are committed with handguns and about 70 percent of the handguns sold in the state are semiautomatics, according to a legislative analysis of the bill.
Moreover, Feuer said, his measure could help deal with so-called “straw purchasers,” those who buy guns legally for those who cannot.
Opponents portrayed the legislation as another assault on the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms. Those who live a life of crime typically do not buy weapons legally and certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to use guns with coded firing pins, they said.
“There are so many ways to game this technology, that's the difficulty,” said Assemblyman Rick Keene, R-Chico. “This is not ready for prime time.”
To those that invoked the Second Amendment, Assemblyman Sandré Swanson offered up another passage from the Constitution.
“This is about life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” said Swanson, a Democrat who represents Oakland, where 148 people were killed last year and 93 so far this year.
As the bill moved through both houses, the legislation was amended to address criticism that it relied on patented technology available only from a single source. That supplier, NanoMark Technologies, has agreed to provide the technology for free to California and other states.
The measure also requires the attorney general to verify that the technology is made available to more than one manufacturer, Feuer said.
Of San Diego County-area legislators, voting against the bill were Republicans Joel Anderson of La Mesa, Martin Garrick of Solana Beach, Shirley Horton of Bonita, Kevin Jeffries of Lake Elsinore, George Plescia of La Jolla and Mimi Walters of Mission Viejo.
Democrats Mary Salas of Chula Vista and Lori Saldaña of San Diego voted for it.
The only thing it would do is link back to the buyer ... if the gun was stolen, then what?
This solidifies my preference of a revolver.
***To those that invoked the Second Amendment, Assemblyman Sandré Swanson offered up another passage from the Constitution.
“This is about life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” said Swanson, a Democrat who represents Oakland, where 148 people were killed last year and 93 so far this year.***
And what does that have to do with anything?
Well, good news for Dremel!
“if the gun was stolen, then what?”
If gun is not reported stolen, then arrest the buyer on record. You see they don’t want guns sold period.
They really put a dent in illegal drug trade too right?
How is this "public-safety" if the cops are picking up stamped cartridge cases around a dead body?
Why not have the gun take a digital picture of the shooter and shootie at every shot and upload the pics to the internet via a wireless connection? Have these libs no imagination?
“This is about life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” said Swanson, a Democrat who represents Oakland
Did she offer up the passage from the Constitution before or after the passage from the Declaration of Independence that she's quoted as saying?
God, the media are stupid.
Would someone please post the BS meter!
Their ignorance is boundless. They don't even know the difference between the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
This would sure make you pick up your empties at the range.
Soon criminals will be buying bags of used casings to scatter at crime scenes to keep the police busy.
Should help keep up revolver prices too.
This, like weather patterns and asinine cultural rot, will blow from West to East. BOHICA, folks.
Ways to circumvent the stamping on the cartridge:
Use a stolen gun
Use an older gun
Use a gun with replaced parts so no number is left
Scratch up the part expected to leave a serial number so the serial number is unrecognizable
Use a revolver and discard the spent shell casings at your leasure far from the crime
Start using a high power bolt action rifle for crimes; they are more accurate anyway.......
Use a fake ID when you buy the firearm in the first place since the NICKS check doesn’t know you are not who you tell it you are
Hence the obvious next step... Outlaw revolvers. Or, if they really want a good political turn of a phrase, simply deny permission to sell them in the state.
So a “straw purchaser” would willingly go buy a handgun that stamps the casings? Even Democrat bangers aren’t that stupid.
The BEST way for killers to get around this? Use a POLICE gun. Cops exempted themselves, you know.....wonder why?
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