WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assembly Bill 1471, “The Crime Gun Identification Act,” is on its way to becoming law after passing in the California Assembly yesterday by a 44 to 29 vote. Introduced by Assemblyman Mike Feuer, this legislation would require that semiautomatic handguns sold in California starting in 2010 be equipped with microstamping technology. If signed into law, California would become the first state to require that semiautomatic handguns leave an identifying mark on each fired bullet cartridge.
Microstamping is the next generation in ballistics technology that gives police more precise investigative leads to pursue criminals. Internal surfaces of the gun etch tiny characters on every fired bullet cartridge so that officers can identify the make, model and serial number of the gun from which it came. A single microstamped cartridge recovered at a crime scene can lead police to the gun that fired it.
In response to yesterday’s vote on A.B. 1471, Representative Xavier Becerra (CA-31) issued the following statement:
“There are smart, effective, inexpensive methods that we can implement to reduce gun violence in our country. And perhaps as important, we can do this without infringing on personal ownership rights. We owe it to our officers and the communities they protect to provide them with the tools necessary to answer the call of duty and help keep us safe.
“Microstamping technology is easy, cheap, efficient, and does not compromise Second Amendment rights. Every piece of microstamped information that would be stamped on a fired bullet cartridge is already on the gun.
“Microstamping technology has a bright future, and I applaud the Assembly’s support of this common sense legislation. Assemblyman Feuer is worthy of much praise for shepherding this bill all the way through to yesterday’s passage. It is my hope that the Senate will take up this legislation in short order and that Governor Schwarzenegger will sign the bill into law.”
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Rep. Becerra has long been an advocate of microstamping technology. He is currently exploring legislative options at the federal level and just recently hosted a microstamping briefing and live demonstration in Washington, D.C., to educate his colleagues about this breakthrough technology. Click here to view the C-SPAN-produced video of Rep. Becerra’s briefing. |
A.B. 1471 must now be taken up by the California State Senate. In 2006, it passed similar legislation by a vote of 22 to 18.
# # # Becerra.House.gov # # #