CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE CONSIDERS MORE ANTI-GUN BILLS

May 13, 2004--Apparently not content with California being one of the most anti-gun states in the country, state legislators have introduced three new bills which threaten lawful firearms ownership.

Assembly bill AB 2858 would impose a ten percent tax on ammunition and a five percent tax on handgun sales. The taxes collected would go into a Firearms Victim Reimbursement Fund. Since the majority of gun injuries are suffered by gang members shooting at each other, as well as drug dealers shooting each other, we can presume that these model citizens will be the prime beneficiaries of the Firearms Victim Reimbursement Fund. Last year a similar bill was introduced which would have imposed a five-cent per bullet tax, the result of which would have increased the price of a box of 500 rounds of .22LR from about $10 to $35. Fortunately, that bill was voted down largely by representatives from rural areas. Let us hope that AB 2858 will suffer the same fate.

Senate bill SB 1152 tries to circumvent provisions of the federal Gun Control Act of 1968 which prohibit establishing a registry of gun owners. SB 1152 would require anyone who buys ammunition to provide the seller with their name, address, date of birth, and a thumbprint. The bill requires that such information be made available to law enforcement. With gun dealers already burdened with Form 4473's, background checks, and other paperwork, SB 1152 will compound their headaches. Of course, it will also drive up taxes in the state, since a new bureaucracy will have to be created to implement the program.

Assembly bill AB 1140 would make criminal storeage of a firearm an offense punishable by six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. This bill is so poorly written that a thief could steal your loaded nightstand gun, commit a robbery, get shot by police, and you go to jail. There are already laws on the books that punish those who are truly negligent in storing their guns. AB 1140 goes way over the top.

California gun owners need to make sure these bills never see the light of day. For more information on them, and for the phone numbers of California legislators, go to the California legislature's website here.