California Governor Ignores Law-Abiding Gun Owners and Sportsmen!

On Saturday, October 13, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signed Assembly Bill 1471, “microstamping” and Assembly Bill 821 “lead ammunition ban,” ignoring the legitimate concerns of California’s law-abiding gun owners and sportsmen.     

AB 1471 will require that after a certain date, the make, model, and serial number of a firearm be microstamped onto the interior surface or internal working parts of all handguns in such a manner that those identifiers are imprinted onto the cartridge case upon firing.  The manufacture, sale, and transfer of handguns that do not imprint their identifying information on a cartridge case would be a crime.

 AB 821 would ban the use of lead ammunition for hunting in areas occupied by California condor.  By passing AB 821, the Legislature has usurped the authority of the Fish and Game Commission over the regulation of hunting and the management of the state’s wildlife.  Unlike the Fish and Game Commission, the Legislature did not take into account the effects of a lead ammunition ban on the state’s hunters.  Studies show that a ban will force many hunters to quit hunting altogether having catastrophic consequences on wildlife management practices and the state’s hunting heritage.

On Sunday, October 14, Governor Schwarzenegger did sign one pro-Second Amendment bill, Assembly Bill 1645, which will protect law-abiding gun owners during a declared state of emergency from the seizure or confiscation of any lawfully carried or possessed firearm or ammunition.