[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
Bang / Guns Title: Calif. lawmakers seek toughest gun laws in nation (Gun registration, ammo checks)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. | Weeks after New York enacted the nation's toughest gun laws, California lawmakers said Thursday they want their state to do even more in response to recent mass shootings, particularly the Connecticut school massacre.
Democrats who control the state Legislature revealed 10 proposals that they said would make California the most restrictive state for possessing firearms.
They were joined at a Capitol news conference by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, along with several police chiefs.
"California has always been a leader on the issue of gun safety," Villaraigosa said. "New York has stepped up and stepped forward. California needs to answer the call."
Among the measures is one that would outlaw the future sale of semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines. The restriction would prevent quick reloading by requiring bullets to be loaded one at a time.
Lawmakers also want to make some prohibitions apply to current gun owners, not just to people who buy weapons in the future.
Like New York, California also would require background checks for buying ammunition and would add to the list of prohibited weapons.
Those buying ammunition would have to pay a fee and undergo an initial background check by the state Department of Justice, similar to what is required now before buyers can purchase a weapon. Subsequent background checks would be done instantly by an ammunition seller checking the Justice Department's records.
The legislation also would ban possession of magazines holding more than 10 bullets, even by those who now own them legally. All weapons would have to be registered.
Sam Paredes, executive director of Gun Owners of California, promised that gun proponents will fight the measures in court if they become law.
"It strikes me as if these folks are playing some sort of game of one-upsmanship with New York at the expense of law-abiding citizens, and that's just unconscionable," he said about lawmakers.
Republicans say the Democrats are exploiting the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary to push their own agendas, reports CBS Sacramento station KOVR-TV. "The laws they are (proposing) would have made no difference in the Connecticut shooting whatsoever," Sen. Dan Logue said.
He added that lawmakers need to focus on other issues that lead to violence. "We've got the issue of PlayStations, where there is violent games," Logue said. "I mean, what about Hollywood and what they are putting out?"
Three bills have been introduced, with others to come before this month's deadline for submitting legislation.
The measures are the most stringent to date among numerous proposals introduced this year to strengthen California's firearm regulations.
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said he is confident Democrats can use their majorities in the Assembly and Senate to send the measures to Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown this year.
Brown has declined to comment on weapons legislation before it reaches him.
Steinberg said the measures are designed to close numerous loopholes that gun manufacturers have exploited to get around California's existing restrictions.
Those measures had been the strongest in the nation until Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed New York's new law last month.
Other proposed measures in California would ban so-called "bullet buttons" that can be used to quickly detach and reload magazines in semi-automatic rifles, and update the legal definition of shotguns to prohibit a new version that can rapidly fire shotgun shells and .45-caliber ammunition.
The state also would restrict the lending of guns to keep weapons from felons, mentally ill people and others who are prohibited from ownership. Poster Comment: Yo, Vivalaraza and Moonbeam, register this! Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest This is why there's no way i'm going to register my weapons in california.
#2. To: hondo68 (#0) Logue said. "I mean, what about Hollywood and what they are putting out?" Nothing will be said or done about what Hollywood or the computer industry is pushing until after the Bill of Rights are destroyed and the government has all the power. The instant that happens the government will tell the entertainment industry and the computer industry what they can and can not sell or produce,and it's off to the prison camps for anybody that tries to produce something not officially approved. The mayor of LA just wants things here like they are back at home in Mexico. The army doesn't exist to fight wars,they exist to protect the wealthy and the politically protected,and the line is so blurry between the police,the military,and paramilitary bodyguards that nobody even knows where it is. Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012) #3. To: sneakypete (#2) The mayor of LA just wants things here like they are back at home in Mexico. The army doesn't exist to fight wars,they exist to protect the wealthy and the politically protected,and the line is so blurry between the police,the military,and paramilitary bodyguards that nobody even knows where it is. Damn. Which is also why the LAPD feels entitled to fire on innocent civilians while chasing someone who killed one of their own. Almost every country in the Middle East is awash in oil, and we have to side with the one that has nothing but joos. Goddamn, that was good thinkin'. Esso posted on 2012-01-13 7:37:56 ET #4. To: mininggold (#3) They not only fired upon them but they hit the two women. What a mess.
#5. To: mininggold (#3) Damn. Which is also why the LAPD feels entitled to fire on innocent civilians while chasing someone who killed one of their own. Absolutely. That's normal where most of them come from,and they want to make it like that here. Even most of the peons don't care because unless you bother somebody rich and connected,the police pretty much leave you alone to starve in peace. Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012) #6. To: Fred Mertz (#4) They not only fired upon them but they hit the two women. That's how we know they were shooting at somebody else. Or would have been,if they had been bold enough to raise their heads up high enough to see where they were shooting. Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012) #7. To: hondo68 (#0) ViaLaRaza wants to make sure that only his gang banging homeboys have the automatic weapons.
#8. To: calcon (#1) This is why there's no way i'm going to register my weapons in california. Niether will I. FUCK 'em!!!! These socialist assholes are opening up Pandora's Box; the rate of noncompliance will be astronomical. And when they decide to get pushy, it's not gonna' pretty- for THEM.
#9. To: hondo68 (#0) I predict that California is going to be a more defiant state than New York turned out to be on this issue. When people think of California all they see is the "Progressive" urban "left coast" and HollyWIERD populations. They forget altogether the Sierra Nevada and Cascadian rural populations who are brought up in the same "wild west" libertarian traditions as Whyoming, Montana and Texas. Those populations kept anti gambling laws passed in California in 1870 from being enforced until the turn of the 20th century and they will not turn in their guns in this time. Ezekiel 13:20 #10. To: sneakypete (#6) That's how we know they were shooting at somebody else. Or would have been,if they had been bold enough to raise their heads up high enough to see where they were shooting. How about gun control against cops? Would you at least support that? :-)
#11. To: sneakypete, Fred Mertz (#6)
#12. To: meguro (#11) From my surfing the 'net and reading comments to news items, it is fairly obvious that the LAPD isn't very popular, to say the least.
#13. To: meguro (#11) I like his sense of humor. I just hope he doesn't have to pay too high a price for it. Some people just can't take a joke. Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012) #14. To: sneakypete (#13) I like his sense of humor. I just hope he doesn't have to pay too high a price for it. Some people just can't take a joke. Yeah, the LAPD may have already taken him out.
#15. To: Fred Mertz (#12) From my surfing the 'net and reading comments to news items, it is fairly obvious that the LAPD isn't very popular, to say the least. It's essentially a government sponsored gang.
#16. To: sneakypete (#13) I just read on elPee about your hospital visit, petey. I'm glad you're home and on the road to recovery and dodged what could have been very serious, if not worse. I can't reply over there, but still check out the news and some discussions.
#17. To: Fred Mertz (#16) Thanks,Fred. I pretty much brought that on myself by being stubborn and ignoring reality,and got VERY,VERY lucky. Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012) Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest |
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|