California gun-control bills advance in Sacramento

[tumtum]

SACRAMENTO -- A package of bills that would once again give California the nation's toughest gun-control laws passed a key legislative hurdle Tuesday, setting up a white-hot Capitol showdown.

The Assembly Committee on Public Safety hearing offered a preview of that battle, as dozens of gun-control advocates -- including some who have lost loved ones to violent crime -- faced off against gun-rights supporters who believe that a basic freedom is threatened.

"This entire package is not focused on trying to prohibit or limit law-abiding citizens from having guns," state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, told the committee. "It seeks to close loopholes that were never supposed to exist."

But National Rifle Association lobbyist Ed Worley scoffed at that notion.

http://www.mercurynews.com/politics-government/ci_23856108/gun-control-bills-advance-sacramento

I can agree with some sensible firearms control bills, but CA seems to be trying to outdo NY without thought of how this impacts legal firearms owners.

[Loudly]

1. Seems like its firearms dealers who are complaining the most.

Who is sympathetic to death merchants? Not I.

[tumtum]

2. Maybe because these are really nonsensible laws?

These bills will do nothing to reduce the violence, all they are, are feel good bills so the politicians can tell their voters, hey, we're doing something.

It's pandering at it's worse.

[Duckhunter935]

3. Yes, I am sure

this will make a serious dent in gang crime committed using handguns. Rifles are used in very few crimes but politicians pander to the uneducated in those facts and try and scare them with scary black rifles that have the same actions as non-banned rifles..

[Loudly]

5. 154 shots from Lanza's Bushmaster.

One from his pistol, to kill himself.

[rl6214]

6. And one guy ran down all those people on Venice beach

So we will ave to put tougher regulations on your car.

[Loudly]

9. When a Dodge Avenger can travel at the speed of a bullet, get back to me.

[rl6214]

10. Doesn't matter

Cars are more deadly than guns.

[petronius]

4. Many of these laws are clearly not based on a careful consideration of safety and

crime, nor on any sound empirical footing - rather they seem to be knee-jerk attempts to simply make it more difficult, expensive, and inconvenient to own guns. Some of the Legislators pushing these things have apparently never seen a gun restriction they don't like, no matter how useless or intrusive it may be. Very disappointing behavior in Sacramento; our budget is better, but they still have far more important things to do than this posturing culture-war stuff.

(That said, I do like the idea of expanding the safety test to long guns - it's not particularly onerous - and the storage laws may have merit...)

[Jenoch]

7. According to the news story at the link,

there is a bill in committee that would ban all semi-auto rifles that accept detachable magazines. I wonder how many crimes have been committed with a Remington 742/7400?

[billh58]

8. tumtum has

left the building.