DeSaulnier Introduces Two Gun Safety Bills

Last week Senator Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) introduced two bills aimed at promoting gun safety, fighting gun trafficking, and curbing gun violence in our communities.

Senator DeSaulnier introduced the following two gun bills:

• SB 293. This bill requires hand guns have an owner authorized safety mechanism, such as biometric readers or other technologies.
• SB 299. This bill requires that every person whose firearm is lost or stolen must notify local law enforcement within 48 hours of the time they knew, or reasonably should have known, that the firearm had been lost or stolen. If the firearm is subsequently recovered, the local law enforcement agency must be notified within 48 hours of the recovery.

While I can appreciate the drive Sen. DeSaulnier has for attempting to improve gun safety, I am not a fan of knee jerk legislation which appears to be all that has come out of Sacramento regarding gun control.  Sacramento needs to slow down with the gun control and have a serious debate regarding common sense legislation because there are way to many bills for Californian’s to chew on.

This criticism isn’t aimed at DeSaulnier, I actually like his SB299, but what sounds good today may end up being poor legislation 5-years from now. DeSaulniers bills are fine and should be adopted, but when you get 10-15 other bills besides his lined up, it makes it hard to support any of the gun control bills.

For example, Nancy Skinner put out AB48 in early January which would  which would require sellers of ammunition to be licensed and for purchasers to show identification. All sales would be reported to the Department of Justice.

Then there is the 10-bill package.  It joins equally controversial proposals from Assembly Democrats that would regulate and tax ammunition sales and consider taking the state’s 166,000 registered assault weapons from their owners

According to a February 7 San Jose Mercury Article, Loni Hancocks bill would ban possession — not just manufacture and sale — of large-capacity magazines holding more than 10 rounds.

State Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, has reintroduced a bill to ban “bullet button” kits that let gun owners effectively sidestep the distinction between detachable and fixed magazines for semi-automatic rifles. Another Yee bill would require that guns be properly locked and stored when their owners aren’t present.

That list also included bills that would:

• Require anyone wishing to buy ammunition to first get a permit by passing a background check, as Los Angeles and Sacramento already do.
• Update the definition of a banned shotgun with a revolving cylinder to include the new technology of a shotgun-rifle combination.
• Prevent unregulated gun loans, with some exceptions, including hunting, in order to keep weapons from those who haven’t passed background checks.
• Require all handgun owners obtain a safety certificate every year, rather than the every-five-years requirement for purchases of new handguns.
• Prohibit anyone barred from owning a weapon from living in a home where weapons are kept and to expand the list of crimes for which convictions result in being barred from gun possession.
• Let the state Justice Department use money from the state’s Dealer’s Record of Sale system to eliminate the backlog of people identified as no longer allowed to own guns but not yet investigated and contacted by law enforcement.

This list of course does not even include what Sen. Diane Feinstein tried to pull when she  introduced a bill that would prohibit 157 specific weapons and ammunition magazines that have more than 10 rounds

Bottom line, DeSaulnier will be hurt by Sacramento’s need to come at gun control from every angle. There is just too much to digest and therefore the public will reach a breaking point of all legislation is bad when that isn’t the case. There comes a point where too much of a good thing becomes a liability, Sacramento Democrats need to figure that out quickly if they want any shot at improving gun safety.

Here is the press release:

DeSaulnier Introduces Two Gun Safety Bills

Last week Senator Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) introduced two bills aimed at promoting gun safety, fighting gun trafficking, and curbing gun violence in our communities.

“Senseless violence occurs far too often when guns fall into the wrong hands,” Senator DeSaulnier said. “I introduced these bills to improve gun safety and help law enforcement better keep firearms out of the hands of criminals or illicit gun traffickers. It is imperative that when a firearm is lost or stolen our law enforcement officers are notified as quickly as possible. Every hour counts when it comes to preventing violence in our communities. Additionally, we should make sure that guns are only used by the owners who are authorized to fire them. Many technologies exist to create this kind of safety mechanism, including biometric readers. It is also important that we recognize the vast impact of gun-related suicides. These bills will help prevent depressed or despondent individuals from having access to firearms.”

Senator DeSaulnier introduced the following two gun bills:

• SB 293. This bill requires hand guns have an owner authorized safety mechanism, such as biometric readers or other technologies.
• SB 299. This bill requires that every person whose firearm is lost or stolen must notify local law enforcement within 48 hours of the time they knew, or reasonably should have known, that the firearm had been lost or stolen. If the firearm is subsequently recovered, the local law enforcement agency must be notified within 48 hours of the recovery.

These bills also take aim at reducing gun-related suicides. By decreasing illicit guns on the streets and preventing unauthorized users from operating handguns, the availability of guns to depressed or suicidal individuals is limited. Nationally, about 19,000 of the more than 31,000 gun-related deaths each year are due to suicide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 85% of suicide attempts involving guns result in death, making firearms the leading method of suicide in the United States.

Last year, DeSaulnier introduced SB 1366 requiring lost or stolen firearms to be reported to local law enforcement. SB 1366 was supported by a wide range of law enforcement and co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Sherriff, Lee Baca. It was vetoed by Governor Brown.

Website of Senator Mark DeSaulnier: http://www.sd07.senate.ca.gov/