Gun Violence Prevention Advocacy

FEDERAL:

After the Tucson shooting, where the gunman fired 33 rounds in just a few seconds, it was eminently clear the federal government needed to reinstate a ban on large capacity ammunition clips. Large capacity clips provided the shots that killed at Columbine and Virginia Tech. They were banned when the assault rifle ban was in place, but that legislation expired, and the plague has returned.

Representative Carolyn McCarthy has introduced HR 308 which would prohibit:

The transfer or possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device, holding more than 20 rounds, and
The importation or bringing into the U.S. of such devices.

This bill is the first step of the legislative process. On February 7, 2011 it was assigned to the House Committee on the Judiciary and referred to the Subcommittee on crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

How You Can Make A Difference:

It’s not too soon to contact your Congress member to voice your support!
Concurrently, Senator Frank Lautenberg has introduced the same legislation, S32. Senator Feinstein, WAGV honoree, is a member of the Judiciary Committee to which the bill was assigned. This is a high priority for her but letters of support will reinforce her position.

STATE:

AB 809

Significantly more long guns than handguns are purchased every year in California and data from the California Department of Justice shows that over half the guns recovered from armed and prohibited persons are long guns!

AB 809 – Assemblymember Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) – is similar to last year’s AB 1810 and would bring much-needed uniformity to the reporting and retention of firearm sales records in California. Law enforcement efforts to investigate gun crimes and disarm dangerous criminals are aided by the Automated Firearm System (AFS) database, which contains records of all handgun transfers. However, state law currently requires that records of long gun sales be destroyed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) instead of being entered into AFS.

AB 809 would close this loophole in state law by removing existing exceptions that require the destruction of long gun sales and transfer records so that handgun and long gun records are maintained in the same manner.

Under AB 809, DOJ would no longer be forced to destroy copies of long gun transfer records; DOJ would instead input these records into the AFS database. AB 809 would also require the same information be entered on a Dealer’s Record of Sale (DROS) form, regardless of whether the firearm is a handgun or a long gun. Statutory provisions exempting certain long gun transfers from recordkeeping and reporting requirements would be removed, creating uniform reporting for the transfer of handguns and long guns. Law enforcement supports this legislation, which passed the Public Safety Committee on April 12, 2011 and passed through the Assembly on June 2, 2011 on a vote of 44 – 2. It’s now on to the State Senate.

AB 144

Assemblymember Anthony Portantino (D – La Canada Flintridge) introduced legislation to ban the “open carry” of unloaded handguns in California with AB 144. This is the second time for this bill that WAGV supported vigorously in 2010. Last year’s bill, AB 1934 by Assemblymember Lori Saldana, made it through the legislation but failed to get to the Governor’s desk when the legislative session adjourned at midnight before the bill could be approved. This session, Portantino took up the cause and worked with law enforcement to reintroduce the “open carry” ban. AB 144 makes it illegal to carry an unloaded handgun in any public place or street. Law enforcement personnel are exempt, as are hunters and others carrying unloaded weapons under specific licensed circumstances. California is one of several states that allow “open carry” which gives gun owners the right to display weapons, though in California those guns must be unloaded.

AB 144 passed the Assembly 45 – 29 and now goes to the California Senate for a vote on Tuesday, June 7.