On Wednesday, June 6, Assembly Bill 362, sponsored by Assembly Member Kevin de Leon (D-45), passed off of the Assembly floor by a vote of 41-31.  It now heads to the Senate for consideration.

AB362 would require identification be presented for all mail order and face-to-face ammunition sales.  Sellers of ammunition would be forced to keep detailed and accurate sales records.  No retail seller of ammunition would be able to sell, offer for sale, or display for sale any ammunition in a manner that allows ammunition to be accessible to a purchaser without the assistance of the retailer or authorized employee.  The bill was amended to include a “user fee” on ammunition sales to defray the cost of background checks on purchasers. 

The Federal law requiring ammunition purchasers to present I.D. was repealed by the Firearms Owners Protection Act of 1986, because it was found to be ineffective in reducing crime.

Also being sent to the Senate for consideration is Assembly Bill 1634.  AB1634 passed the Assembly on Wednesday, June 6 by a 41-38 vote.

This measure requires every dog older than four months to be spayed or neutered.  Owners hoping to be able to breed their dogs at some point during their lives would be required to apply annually to their local government for an "intact" permit.  Except under very limited circumstances, the local government official has the power to deny issuance of an intact permit without cause.  The cost of the annual permit is unspecified in the legislation and is to be determined by the local government.  Penalty for non-compliance is a $500 fine imposed by the state and any additional fines imposed by the local government.

This legislation threatens to keep hunters from making decisions based upon their own personal circumstances.  It will prevent hunters from continuing the tradition of occasionally breeding their favorite dog in order to provide other hunters with good dogs and defray some of the costs associated with caring for their animals.  From a financial perspective, the bill discriminates against hunters with limited budgets. 

Please contact your State Senator today and respectfully urge him or her to oppose AB362 and AB1634.  Also, don’t forget to continue contacting your Senator about AB821 and AB1471.  Contact information for your State Senator can be found by clicking here.