State Weighs 2 Bills Requiring Bullet Marking

LA Times ^ | July 3, 2005 | Jordan Rau, Times Staff Writer

[echoBoomer]

..."This is nothing fancy, just simple technology," he said on a recent day, after proudly showing that the identification numbers on several slugs remained readable after the bullets were fired into a bulletproof vest.

With 45% of the state's homicides unsolved in 2003, the most recent data available, the California Legislature is moving ahead with two potentially landmark measures that would require that identifying marks be embedded on projectiles from guns.

One proposal would have all bullets sold in the state marked during manufacture with codes. The other would mandate that guns be equipped with stamping mechanisms that would hammer telling marks onto every cartridge fired. That could allow investigators to link the cartridge to the gun's purchaser even if they could not find the firearm.

The approaches depart from law enforcement tactics elsewhere in the country, which have focused on creating computer registries of fired bullets. Those allow for investigators to match projectiles from different crimes, linking ones committed with the same weapon.

The issue of marking ammunition has become the most contested law enforcement topic in Sacramento this year. One of the bills has split California's law enforcement community and infuriated the nation's ammunition manufacturers, weapons sellers and firearms enthusiasts, including the National Rifle Assn. Several police groups in California are also opposed...

[R. Scott]

The technology probably doesn't work and it'd cost millions to implement.

The anti-Constitution mob doesn’t really care if it works or not. This part of your statement I heartily agree with – “…it'd cost millions to implement.” The cost has to be passed on to the consumer.

[BulletBobCo]

[Arkie2]

That's precisely the point. They don't care if the technology works at all. They want to come at gun control from another angle by making ammo prohibitively expensive. If this succeeds in Kali it will be copied in other states.

[goldstategop]

Backdoor gun ban. The Los Angeles Times doesn't cite one piece of evidence ammo ID has ever solved a real world crime. Reading between the lines though, its enough to figure out they're happy that gun owners are being screwed. The measures making their way to the Governor's desk have nothing to do with helping forensic investigations and a lot to do with the anti-gun zealots looking for a way it can keep guns out of the hands of the Little People. Thanks to a marriage of technology and politics they may have just found the ticket.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[FreedomPoster]

The Death of 1000 Cuts of an inalienable right proceeds apace.

[FreedomPoster]

Ping.

[goldstategop]

The ammo industry will abandon California than retool their factories just to make a bunch of useless ammo. Never mind our police and military will be put at a disadvantage. The long-term aim of the Left is to convince people they don't have to defend themselves, period. I've never met a Leftist who wasn't a pacifist.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[magslinger]

The technology probably doesn't work and it'd cost millions to impliment.

That's the whole point, if they can't make our guns illegal, make them too expensive.

[AlBondigas]

anti-gun zealots

I think you give 'em too much credit

They're well intentioned, but F***ing STOOOOPID !

[dhuffman@awod.com]

Vote with your pocketbook and buy cheap unmarked ammo now. I have a thousand rounds for each caliber gun that I own. Scroom!

[kAcknor]

They're f'ing morons.

No, they aren't. They are rational, dedicated, mostly intelligent pompous f'ing bas***ds.

They know exactly what they are doing. Limiting the firearms available for sale to the public, and raising the price of ammunition to outrageous levels.

As frosting on their cake, they will outlaw millions of current firearms and stockpiles of ammunition. Anyone caught with them after a given date (Oh those wonderful registration lists) will be branded a felon and unable to own a gun ever again.

Morons? OK, maybe. But not stupid, not at all.

[goldstategop]

Its exactly the point - if you drive up the costs of producing ammo, you basically make gun ownership unaffordable. That's why this... if you leave the smokescreen rhetoric aside, is to all practical intents and purposes a ban on private gun ownership in this state. Just don't expect the politicians to acknowledge these so-called ammo ID proposals do that effectively and might I add - quietly too. After their defeat a quarter of a century ago on a ballot measure, the Left has achieved its aim incrementally. That's from their point of view, progress.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[goldstategop]

California will have a thriving black market in guns and ammo. If you think folks bringing in illegal drugs in this country have been creative, just wait til you see what the firearms guys do. The fallout is gonna make Prohibition look like a Sunday tea affair.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[DJ Taylor]

"The technology probably doesn't work and it'd cost millions to impliment."

Of course it won't work and the Democrats know it. Their aim is to cause the manufacturers of weapons and ammunition to withdraw their products from the California market. With no weapons and ammunition available on the legal market for law abiding citizens to purchase, the only people in California who can arm themselves will be the criminals, as they buy their weapons and ammunition from the black market.

Criminals make up a large part of the Democrat constituency, so the Democrats are just paying off the people who keep them in office.

Am I just being sarcastic, or could there be some truth here?

[mmercier]

>> focused on creating computer registries of fired bullets. Those allow for investigators to match projectiles from different crimes, linking ones committed with the same weapon.

That would seem the logical thing to do, unless making ammunition prohibitively expensive for the average law abiding citizen is your goal.

Then only the people who "need" guns, and are able to make the right connections, and afford them will bear arms...

I feel safer already.

[cpdiii]

If the bullet is marked I can remove the mark or buy bullets out of state. If the chamber has a mechanism that will stamp the case I can simply polish it out or fill it in depending on how it is made. This of course will be illegal and I am sure all of the criminals will dutifully follow the law and not do this. If we pass a law that makes bank robbery illegal I am sure the criminals will stop robbing banks. Opps, I forgot there already is a law against robbing banks. Perhaps criminals will not obey the law. Do criminals rob banks in California or have they made that illegal there?

This is what is really happening. A list of numbers registered with the State of California is a list of guns that will be confiscated from law abiding citizens. But this really is not a problem is it? I am sure all the criminals will also turn their firearms in when the state comes and confiscates them. The government of California is so enlightened and caring.

If I am not mistaken a criminal is someone whom violates the law. I am sure California can make violating the law illegal and solve this minor problem with their compassionate effort to remove the evil firearms from us evil citizens who possess firearms in accordance with our constitutional rights under the second amendment. Silly little piece of paper called The Constitution.

"FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS"

[Cobra64]

"One proposal would have all bullets sold in the state marked during manufacture with codes."

Huh? These jerks are clueless. So the 12,000 rounds I have here in NC won't work in CA? Or... I guess they've never heard of bullet molds, lead, powder, primers and casings.

I have a better idea, mark these meatheads on their forhead with the letter "A" for a$$wholes.

[heleny]

“…it'd cost millions to implement.” The cost has to be passed on to the consumer.

And all CA taxpayers, who will have to pay for the technology for all the police.

These expensive measures, if passed, will leave less money for hiring police officers. Obviously, the police will then howl for higher taxes and a higher budget.