Posted on 10/15/2001 5:03:11 PM PDT by Dan from Michigan
California Governor Signs Sweeping New Gun Laws
Handgun License and Registration Measures OK’d; Gun Owner Registration Check Will Be Nation’s Toughest
California Governor Gray Davis signed sweeping new gun laws Sunday night that will require all handgun buyers to obtain a safety license and impose broad new background checks to identify current gun owners who have become criminals. While over a dozen states have handgun licensing laws, California's will be among the toughest and require written safety tests and fingerprinting. California will also become the first state in the country to continuously check handgun owner registration records against criminal files to identify people who may no longer keep their guns. SB 52 and AB 35, twin licensing measures by Senator Jack Scott and Assemblyman Kevin Shelley, and SB 950, the registration bill by Senator James Brulte, are the first major gun laws Davis has signed since 1999.
"Handgun licensing and registration have been our top California priorities and these bills are a giant step in the right direction," said Luis Tolley, State Legislative Director for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which sponsored the handgun license bill. "These measures greatly boost our campaign against gun violence by requiring handgun buyers to pass safety training tests and cracking down on illegal gun owners."
"For the first time in the country, handgun owner records will be continuously checked to identify gun owners who have become criminals or otherwise prohibited and may no longer keep their weapons," said Tolley. "The gun lobby has long opposed keeping records on gun owners, but this new law demonstrates that gun purchase records give law enforcement a critical tool to identify and disarm criminals. We know that thousands of gun owners have become criminals since purchasing their firearms and this law will help police catch them and get their guns off the street."
Handgun Registration & Criminal Cross-Check (SB950 by Senator James Brulte):
1) Track Gun Owners to Identify Criminals. DOJ will compare the records of handgun buyers going back to 1991 with criminal/prohibited person records to identify handgun owners who are no longer allowed to possess their weapons. DOJ estimates there are 170,000 such illegal gun owners in California.
2) Establish Online Database to Alert Local Law Enforcement. DOJ will develop an online database so police officers can cross-check gun owner records with prohibited person records during routine traffic stops and other procedures.
3) Get Handguns Off the Street. DOJ will deploy a special team to assist local law enforcement in investigating and taking action against handgun owners who are no longer allowed to possess their weapons to get their weapons off the street.
Handgun Licensing (SB52 by Senator Jack Scott & AB35 by Assemblyman Kevin Shelley):
1) Mandate Written Exam. Require handgun buyers to obtain a handgun safety certificate by passing a 30-question written test on gun laws and proper handgun safety practices. The certificate would be required to be presented for every handgun purchase and would be valid for five years.
2) Require Hands-On Safety Test. Handgun buyers will have to complete a hands-on demonstration to a DOJ-certified handgun safety instructor proving basic safe-handling knowledge, including operation of the weapon's safety features, use of appropriate handgun safety locks and proper loading and unloading practices.
3) Strengthen the Background Check. Require a thumbprint from all gun buyers (handguns and long guns) for use in prosecuting felons who lie about their status. Require handgun buyers to provide proof of state residency, such as a utility bill. Increase by $10 the handgun buyer fee to provide additional funds for improved DOJ enforcement and policing of gun dealers. Make it much harder to use fake ID's when buying a gun by requiring the gun dealer to always swipe the magnetic strip on the back of all gun buyer's identity cards (driver's license or state ID card) rather than allowing gun dealers to "phone" the information to DOJ.
New Law Is A Major Gun Violence Prevention Victory;
California Becomes 13th State with Handgun Licensing, Sixth State with Both Licensing and Registration
For Immediate Release: October 15, 2001
Contact: Blaine Rummel (202) 408-0061 ext. 118
(Washington, D.C.) – In a major victory for the gun violence prevention movement, Governor Gray Davis (D-CA) yesterday signed into law two bills requiring licenses for all new handgun purchasers in the state. The identical measures, AB 35 and SB 52 go into effect January 2003.
The signing of the bills makes California the 13th state to enact handgun licensing, and the sixth state to establish a comprehensive system of both handgun licensing and registration. A recent study by Johns Hopkins University (Joyce Foundation) found that states with both licensing and registration laws are far more effective at keeping guns away from criminals and juveniles than states with either or neither law.
"This is truly an historic victory for the cause of common sense gun laws," said Michael K. Beard, president of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. "Strong grassroots support for these sweeping bills assured their success. At the end of the day, average Californians came together and beat the NRA - the most powerful lobby in the country."
Under the law, new handgun buyers will have to provide a thumbprint before purchasing a handgun - an identification requirement that will serve as a strong deterrent for criminals looking to get guns, and will reinforce the sense of responsibility that comes with gun ownership.
The proposal will also require all handgun buyers to undergo safety training, and to demonstrate their ability to safely use and store guns.
Handgun licensing enjoys strong support not only in California, but throughout the nation. A recent poll released by the respected polling firm Lake, Snell, Perry and Associates found that 85% of voters - and 73% of gun owners - favor requiring prospective gun owners to obtain a license before buying a handgun.
Governor Davis last night also signed SB 950, a bill that authorizes the California Department of Justice to run the conviction records of felons against the state's existing gun record of sale database. The new law will give law enforcement a powerful new tool in identifying prohibited gun purchasers, and retrieving their illegal weapons.
"As we look for ways to increase our security, it makes sense to do everything we can to diminish criminal and juvenile access to guns," said Beard.
Another Victory for Gun Violence Prevention Movement
The passage and signature of handgun licensing in California is the most significant gun violence prevention victory of 2001, and is the latest evidence that gun control is not "a losing issue," as some pundits have suggested. Consider the following:
During the 2000 elections, citizens in Oregon and Colorado overwhelmingly passed ballot initiatives to close the gun show loophole after their respective state legislatures refused to do so.
In May 2001, gun violence prevention activists in Minnesota defeated a proposed concealed carry bill, despite intense lobbying for the bill by the NRA. The proposal would have permitted Minnesotans to carry hidden handguns anywhere in the state.
Also in May 2001, Missouri's gun violence prevention advocates turned back the NRA's second attempt to pass a concealed carry bill in the state legislature. Missourians themselves voted down the measure in a 1999 ballot initiative.
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What about Michigan, Beard? What? What About Gore? What? What? Huh, you lost there. What? What?
Interesting.
So gun-owning Calif. drivers will now have to stick both hand out the window when pulled over for a routine check of their state inspection sticker.
Yeah, glad I don't live in that police state.
Hell,why not make gun ownership illegal and make them ALL criminals! You know that's what you want.
Liberals,Paatah!
That sounds very much like the Hitler quote from 1938. And Lying Luis Tolley would have been right at home in the Third Reich - except as a member of one of the "less than perfect" mongrel races, he would have been sent to a "re-education" camp - Arbeit Macht Frei!
What this all comes down to is a total disregard for the Constitution of the United States by all parties involved. Laws establishing the poll tax and the literacy test were both thrown out and both represent about the same level of unconstitutionality expressed in the thousands of state gun laws around the country, i.e., they are all examples of "prior restraint" of a Constitutional right. A few more years of Democrap control in California, and no one will be able to legally get or possess a firearm.
The ever-growing mountain of stupid gun laws assures one thing: the black market for firearms may no longer cater only to career criminals. JPFO published an article some years ago called "The $200 Machine Gun" in which they predicted (correctly) that once all guns were prohibitied, anyone who wanted one could get a machine gun. And as the market expanded (just like for illicit drugs) the prices would come down. Idiots like Tolley think that they will be the ones running the show when a true tyranny is established in the US. Poor deluded morons. True justice would allow them to rue the day they decided to aid in the disarmament of the civilian population.
(Bad word, bad word, bad word)
And the worst part of it all is that the court system is almost totally corrupt when it comes to doing the right thing with regard to the 2nd Amendment. The Emerson decision from the 5th Circuit is way overdue; I get really nervous that they are trying to find a way to sandbag the 2nd again.
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