BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 169
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Date of Hearing: April 2, 2013
Counsel: Gabriel Caswell
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 169 (Dickinson) - As Amended: April 1, 2013
SUMMARY : Changes provisions related to unsafe handguns by
limiting the transfer or sale of unsafe handguns to those who
are authorized to possess them, and by applying the provisions
to single-shot pistols which can be easily modified to
semi-automatic weapons. Specifically, this bill :
1)Deletes exemptions from the unsafe handgun prohibitions that
permit specified individuals who are exempted parties to sell,
transfer, or loan that weapon to another person who may or may
not be an exempted party.
2)Makes the provisions defining and governing of unsafe handguns
apply in the same manner to a single-shot pistol with a break
top or bolt action that apply to other firearms governed by
unsafe handgun provisions.
3)Prohibits a person exempted under the unsafe handgun
provisions from selling or otherwise transferring the
ownership of an otherwise prohibited handgun to a person who
is not exempted under the same provision unless the
transaction is exempt from the requirement to complete the
transaction through a licensed dealer.
4)Permits the transfer or sale of unsafe handguns between
similar licensed prop houses.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that any person in California who manufactures or
causes to be manufactured, imports into the state for sale,
keeps for sale, offers or exposes for sale, gives, or lends
any unsafe handgun shall be punished by imprisonment in a
county jail not exceeding one year. [Penal Code Section
32000(a).]
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a) Specifies that this section shall not apply to any of
the following [Penal Code Section 32000(b)]:
i) The manufacture in California, or importation into
this state, of any prototype pistol, revolver, or other
firearm capable of being concealed upon the person when
the manufacture or importation is for the sole purpose of
allowing an independent laboratory certified by the
Department of Justice (DOJ) to conduct an independent
test to determine whether that pistol, revolver, or other
firearm capable of being concealed upon the person is
prohibited, inclusive, and, if not, allowing the
department to add the firearm to the roster of pistols,
revolvers, and other firearms capable of being concealed
upon the person that may be sold in this.
ii) The importation or lending of a pistol, revolver, or
other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person
by employees or authorized agents of entities determining
whether the weapon is prohibited by this section.
iii) Firearms listed as curios or relics, as defined in
federal law.
iv) The sale or purchase of any pistol, revolver, or
other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person,
if the pistol, revolver, or other firearm is sold to, or
purchased by, the Department of Justice, any police
department, any sheriff's official, any marshal's office,
the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency, the California
Highway Patrol, any district attorney's office, or the
military or naval forces of this state or of the United
States for use in the discharge of their official duties.
Nor shall anything in this section prohibit the sale to,
or purchase by, sworn members of these agencies of any
pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being
concealed upon the person.
2)Specifies that violations of the unsafe handgun provisions are
cumulative with respect to each handgun and shall not be
construed as restricting the application of any other law.
[Penal Code Section 32000(c).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
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COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "AB 169 closes a
couple of loopholes in state law that, without correction,
allow unsafe handguns to be easily transferred to individuals
who are not trained to handle such weapons, or do not have a
legitimate need to own such a weapon, or to be purchased by
anyone if the weapon undergoes a simple modification that can
be easily undone.
"Unsafe, or non-rostered handguns are those that are determined
by DOJ that do not have required safety features, do not meet
specified firing tests or do not meet a drop test. Few people
can legally purchase such guns through a dealer.
Unfortunately, there is nothing to prohibit any of these
permitted persons to turn around and sell the guns to people
who cannot make an original purchase. Another loophole allows
anyone to buy an unsafe handgun if it is modified to fire only
a single shot. But this modification can be easily undone.
"Both loopholes allow the law to be abused. Some of the
parties who are exempted from restrictions on owning an unsafe
handgun can, purchase these guns so that they can be resold to
those who are not exempted. Blog traffic indicates that there
is a thriving market for such weapons and prices are at a
premium. This results in a proliferation of unsafe handguns
among the general population.
"It is important to close this loophole to keep unsafe
handguns out of the hands of the general public and protect
the integrity of California law."
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2)Background : According to the background submitted by the
author, existing law provides that the sale, loan, or transfer
of firearms in almost all cases must be processed by, or
through, a state licensed dealer or a local law enforcement
agency. Existing law also provides that no "unsafe handgun"
may be manufactured or sold in California by a licensed
dealer, as specified, and requires that the Department of
Justice (DOJ) prepare and maintain a roster of handguns which
are determined not to be unsafe.
Current law allows for certain exemptions from the above
restriction, including law enforcement officers, as defined,
private parties where the weapon was previously owned,
gunsmiths, curio/relic dealers, pawnbrokers, and people using
the guns as a movie props.
The exemptions and grandfathering provisions of current law
recognize several facts: 1) Law enforcement officers have
training to safely handle these weapons; 2) certain parties
have a legitimate use for such weapons (movie props and
repair); and 3) individuals may have owned one of the unsafe
handguns prior to any state restrictions being enacted.
Notwithstanding the exemptions and grandfathering provisions,
there is a loophole in law that allows any of the exempted
parties to sell/transfer or loan that weapon to any other
person. This loophole allows the ownership of unsafe
handguns, by parties who otherwise could not buy them legally
from a manufacturer through a licensed dealer. Private
parties who may purchase the unsafe handguns from an exempted
party may not have the training to safely handle the weapon or
have a legitimate need for the weapon.
Last year, Assemblymember Dickinson authored AB 2460 to close
this loophole for exempted law enforcement. The Governor's
veto message cited the fact there are other exempted parties,
and legislation should not single out one particular group.
AB 169 now addresses some of the other exempted parties, in
addition to law enforcement, as suggested by the Governor.
The bill is also being amended to close another loophole in
the non-rostered or unsafe handgun law. If a non-rostered
weapon is modified so that it can only fire a single shot, it
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can be purchased legally through a dealer by anyone. This has
led buyers to order the gun, and instruct the dealer to modify
the gun to be a single shot weapon, before the buyer takes
delivery. After the buyer receives the modified weapon, on
another day, they have the dealer or a gunsmith undo the
single shot modification, and return the gun to its original
configuration, thus allowing them to own an unsafe handgun
with no restriction.
3)Safe Handgun Law : SB 15 (Polanco), Chapter 248, Statutes of
1999, made it a misdemeanor for any person in California to
manufacture, import for sale, offer for sale, give, or lend
any unsafe handgun, as defined, with certain specific
exceptions. SB 15 defined an "unsafe handgun" as follows:
(a) does not have a requisite safety device, (b) does not meet
specified firing tests, and (c) does not meet a specified drop
safety test.
a) Required Safety Device : The Safe Handgun Law requires a
revolver to have a safety device that, either automatically
in the case of a double-action firing mechanism or by
manual operation in the case of a single-action firing
mechanism, causes the hammer to retract to a point where
the firing pin does not rest upon the primer of the
cartridge or in the case of a pistol have a positive
manually operated safety device.
b) Firing Test : In order to meet the "firing requirements"
under the Safe Handgun Law, the manufacturer must submit
three unaltered handguns, of the make and model for which
certification is sought, to an independent laboratory
certified by the Attorney General. The laboratory shall
fire 600 rounds from each gun under certain conditions. A
handgun shall pass the test if each of the three test guns
fires the first 20 rounds without a malfunction, and fires
the full 600 rounds without more than six malfunctions and
without any crack or breakage of an operating part of the
handgun that increases the risk of injury to the user.
"Malfunction" is defined as a failure to properly feed,
fire or eject a round; failure of a pistol to accept or
reject a manufacturer-approved magazine; or failure of a
pistol's slide to remain open after a manufacturer approved
magazine has been expended.
c) Drop Test : The Safe Handgun Law provides that at the
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conclusion of the firing test, the same three
manufacturer's handguns must undergo and pass a "drop
safety requirement" test. The three handguns are dropped a
specified number of times, in specified ways, with a primed
case (no powder or projectile) inserted into the handgun,
and the primer is examined for indentations after each
drop. The handgun passes the test if each of the three
test guns does not fire the primer.
4)Argument in Support : According to the California Chapters of
the Brady Campaign , "Most law enforcement personnel are exempt
from the requirements of SB 15 (Safe Handgun Act). The need
for this bill became clear when it came to light that certain
members of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department were
engaging in the sale or unsafe handguns to persons who were
not exempt as a profit making venture. This practice was a
blatant violation of the intent of the Safe Handgun act and
put unsafe handguns in the hands of the general public.
"Last year, Assembly Member Dickinson carried AB 2460 which
would have banned the sale of unsafe handguns by law
enforcement officers to non-exempt persons. Governor Brown
vetoed AB 2460 stating that the "?bill takes from law
enforcement offers the right to an activity that remains
legally available to every private citizen." AB 169
completely addresses the Governor's veto message by clearly
stating that any exempt person, including those with
previously owned unsafe handguns, may only sell or transfer an
unsafe handgun to a person who is similarly exempt.
"Assembly Bill 169 addresses an additional loophole in the
Unsafe Handgun Act. The existing law allows the purchase of a
handgun that is not on the roster if the weapon was first
modified to accept only a single bullet. In practice, this
has allowed dealers to modify unsafe handguns to single shot
weapons for the purpose of the sale, after which they are
readily converted back to semiautomatic status. These actions
completely negate the intent of the Unsafe Handgun Act."
5)Argument in Opposition: According to the National Rifle
Association of America , "Assembly Bill 169 would prohibit the
transfer of millions of lawfully owned handguns and jeopardize
the continued ownership of constitutionally protected
firearms. Current California law allows handguns that are not
on the Department of Justice (DOJ) approved handgun roster to
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be sold or transferred to another individual through
consignment sale or as a private party transfer, provided that
the sale is completed through a licensed firearms retailer.
"Most of the handguns lawfully possessed in California today,
are not currently or will ever be allowed, to be added to DOJ
approved handgun roster. These handguns have fallen off the
roster, were manufactured and/or purchased prior to the
State's enactment of the handgun roster law. The passage AB
169 would leave gun owners who lawfully purchased a handgun
that previously appeared on the DOJ approved roster with no
means to sell or transfer their handgun, if that firearm is no
longer listed on the roster.
"By banning the sale and transfer of handguns that were
legally purchased and are lawfully possessed, AB 169 clearly
conflicts with the Second Amendment's protections for commonly
possessed handguns and the corollary right to sell and
transfer these protected firearms. (District of Columbia v.
Heller, 554 U.S. 570 at 624-25; See also Andrews v. State, 50
Tenn. At 178; U.S. v. Marzzaerlla, 614 F.3d at 92 n.8.) The
passage of AB 169 will result in litigation to prevent the
enforcement of what amounts to the de facto ban on the sale
and transfer of millions of lawfully owned guns."
6)Prior Legislation :
a) AB 2460 (Dickinson), of the 2011-2012 Legislative
Session, specified that the Department of Justice (DOJ),
police departments, sheriffs' officials, marshals' offices,
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation,
California Highway Patrol, district attorneys' offices, and
military or naval forces of the State of California may not
sell or otherwise transfer the ownership of an unsafe
handgun to any entity or person that is not otherwise
exempted from possession of an unsafe handgun. AB 2460 was
vetoed by the Governor.
b) SB 15 (Polanco), Chapter 248, Statutes of 1999, made it
a misdemeanor for any person in California to manufacture,
import for sale, offer for sale, give, or lend any unsafe
handgun, as defined, with certain specific exceptions.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
AB 169
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Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
California Chapters of the Brady Campaign
Opposition
California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees
California Rifle and Pistol Association, Inc.
National Rifle Association of America
One private individual
Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744