BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1964 Page 1 Date of Hearing: March 25, 2014 Counsel: Gabriel Caswell ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY Tom Ammiano, Chair AB 1964 (Dickinson) - As Introduced: February 19, 2014 SUMMARY : Makes the provisions regulating unsafe handguns inapplicable to a single-shot pistol with a break top or bolt action. Specifically, this bill : makes this exemption from the unsafe handgun list inapplicable to a semiautomatic pistol that has been temporarily or permanently altered so that it will not fire in a semiautomatic mode. 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 § 32000 subd. (a).) a) Specifies that this section shall not apply to any of the following (Penal Code § 32000 subd. (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 AB 1964 Page 2 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; and 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 § 32000 subd. (c).) FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS : 1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "The single shot exemption undermines the state Unsafe Handgun Law and results in an increasing number of handguns being obtained that do not meet state safety requirements. Buyers have learned that altering a semi-automatic handgun so that it becomes a single shot handgun can be easily undone, returning the weapon to its original illegal configuration. "AB 1964 will eliminate the exemption for single shot handguns in the state Unsafe Handgun law. AB 1964 will halt the growing trend of people buying and converting unsafe handguns to get around state mandated safety features and/or safety test for handguns sold in California. "Pursuant to AB 1964 no one will be able to purchase an unsafe AB 1964 Page 3 handgun in California by virtue of it being a single shot weapon. "AB 1964 will ensure that more handguns purchased through a dealer are handguns which meet all safety and firing tests and contain all state required handgun safety features." 2)Single Shot Handgun Modifications from Semi-Automatic Weapons : According to the background provided by the author, existing law provides that the sale, loan, or transfer of firearms 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 to be safe. "Unsafe handguns" are defined as those which do not have requisite safety devices, do not meet specified firing tests, or do not meet a drop safety test, and therefore do not appear on the DOJ safe handgun roster. Since the enactment of the Unsafe Handgun law, the statute has been amended a number of times to add exemptions to the prohibitions on buying and selling the affected weapons. One of the most significant loopholes in the Unsafe Handgun law concerns single shot handguns. In effect, a person may purchase a handgun which is manufactured or altered to only accept a single bullet (no semi-automatic reload of a bullet in the firing chamber), even if the handgun is considered by DOJ as unsafe, (i.e. not meeting state safe handgun requirements, and therefore not on the state safe handgun roster). Up until 2009, no more than 1100 single shot handguns which did not contain state required safety features or failed state safety tests, were purchased and registered each year, often far fewer than that. However, beginning in 2010, the number of unsafe single shot handguns purchased and registered skyrocketed. In 2013 alone, more than 18,000 of these weapons were purchased in California. The jump in the purchase of unsafe single shot handguns coincides with the enactment of new handgun safety requirements such as bullet chamber load indicators and AB 1964 Page 4 micro-stamping of bullets. In essence, more people are using the exemption to acquire guns they would otherwise be unable to legally purchase if the gun was bought in its original semi-automatic configuration. The conversion of semi-automatic handguns to single shot handguns can be easily undone by a buyer or the dealer after the buyer takes delivery of the weapon. Reconverting a single shot handgun into its original semi-automatic configuration undermines the state Unsafe Handgun Law and results in an increasing number of handguns being obtained that do not meet state safety requirements. 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 AB 1964 Page 5 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 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)Governor's Veto Message of AB 169 (Dickinson) : Current law restricts the sale of so-called "off roster" handguns with several exemptions. Exemptions include sales between private parties and sales of single-shot handguns. Current law also prohibits the sale of more than five handguns per year, whether off-roster or not, except by a licensed firearms dealer. AB 169 would close a loophole in the single-shot exemption. That makes sense. The bill would also restrict private party off-roster sales to two per year. I do not support restricting sales in this way without evidence that such restrictions would improve public safety. I will work with the Bureau of Firearms in the Department of Justice to ensure better tracking and enforcement to prevent individuals from violating the existing five-per-year limit. 5)Argument in Support : According to the California Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, "The Brady Campaign was instrumental in the enactment of the Unsafe Handgun Act, Senate Bill 15, in 1999. Under this law, no handgun may be manufactured, imported, sold, or transferred in California unless that handgun model is listed on a roster of handguns maintained by the California Department of Justice. For a model to be listed on the roster of handguns certified for sale in California, the handgun model must pass firing, safety, and drop tests. Newer models must possess certain safety features, such as a chamber load indicator. Private party transfers, curio/relic handguns, certain single-action revolvers, and pawn/consignment returns are exempt from this requirement. AB 1964 Page 6 "Assembly Bill 1964 addresses an exploited loophole in the Unsafe Handgun Act. Existing law allows for the purchase of a semi-automatic 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. This bill eliminates this 'single-shot exemption'. "The 'single-shot exemption' has been abused in recent years. According to the Department of Justice, up until 2009, no more than 1,100 single shot handguns were purchased each year. However, beginning in 2010, the number of unsafe single shot handguns purchased skyrocketed. In year 2013, more than 18,000 single shot handguns were purchase in California. Clearly, dealers and buyers have found a blatant way to circumvent California's safe handgun law and the newer safety requirements such as the chamber load indicator or microstamping technology. "The intent of the Unsafe Handgun Act is to ensure that handguns meet basic safety standards and include new safety features, such as a chamber load indicator. The Act ended the proliferation of cheap 'junk guns' that were the weapon of choice among criminals and gang members and reduced the potential for injury and death from accidental shootings." 6)Prior Legislation: a) AB 169 (Dickinson), of the 2013-2014 Legislative Session, changed 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. Contained the provisions of this bill in a larger body of statutory changes. AB 169 was vetoed by the governor. b) 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, AB 1964 Page 7 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. c) 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 : Support California Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence Coalition Against Gun Violence Coalition to Stop Gun Violence Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence Physicians for Social Responsibility Opposition None Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744