Senate Joint Resolution No. 1

Introduced by Senators Wolk, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Hancock, Hill, Leno, and Yee

(Coauthors: Senators Beall, Block, Calderon, De León, Evans, Jackson, Lara, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Padilla, Pavley, Price, and Steinberg)

January 18, 2013

Senate Joint Resolution No. 1—Relative to firearms.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SJR 1, as introduced, Wolk. Firearms control.

This measure would urge the President and the Congress of the United States to develop a comprehensive federal approach to reducing and preventing gun violence, promptly place assault weapons and high-capacity assault magazines under the scope of the National Firearms Act, and require a universal background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) for the transfer of all firearms. This measure would additionally urge the President to take steps to ensure all states and applicable federal agencies are reporting all necessary records to the NICS.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, The Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting
in Newtown, Connecticut, which resulted in the death of 20
children and 6 adults, demonstrated the need for stronger laws to
prevent gun violence; and

WHEREAS, Numerous factors contribute to the occurrence of
mass shootings, including unregulated access to assault weapons
and assault magazines, insufficient background checks, and needed
improvements to our mental health system, among others; and

WHEREAS, Semiautomatic assault weapons designed with
military features allow for the rapid fire of potentially large
numbers of bullets, and are distinguishable from standard sporting
firearms by features such as the ability to accept a detachable
magazine, pistol grips, and folding or telescoping stocks; and

WHEREAS, Semiautomatic assault weapons are frequently
used in mass shootings, including the 1993 101 California Street
shooting in San Francisco that involved two TEC-9 semiautomatic
handguns, and the recent Aurora, Colorado, shooting that involved
an AR-15 style semiautomatic assault rifle with a 100-round
ammunition drum; and

WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court has affirmed
once and for all that Americans have a right to keep and bear arms.
However, as conservative justice Antonin Scalia outlined, the
District of Columbia v. Heller decision does not prohibit laws
forbidding firearms in places such as schools or regulation of
unusually dangerous weapons, nor does it restrict laws prohibiting
felons and the mentally ill from carrying guns; and

WHEREAS, The National Firearms Act of 1934 regulates the
possession and transfer of fully automatic machine guns through
background checks, registration, and excise taxes, but individual
states are able to enact their own stronger gun legislation and
regulations which may or may not be similar to other states; and

WHEREAS, Seven states, including California, have enacted
laws strictly regulating the possession, manufacture, and transfer
of assault weapons; and

WHEREAS, Because our borders are porous and only a small
number of states regulate assault weapons and high-capacity assault
magazines, states, like California, that take steps to protect their
communities from these weapons are vulnerable to criminals who
use those weapons without a comprehensive federal approach to
curb gun violence; and

WHEREAS, It is estimated that 40 percent of firearm transfers
are completed without a federal background check, including the
transfer of semiautomatic firearms from a private collection; and

WHEREAS, California requires background checks for all
firearms sales and transfers through various means; and

WHEREAS, Nine categories of individuals are prohibited from
purchasing and possessing firearms, including the dangerously
mentally ill; and

WHEREAS, Mental health records are reported by the state and
imported into the National Instant Criminal Background Check
System, but currently many state and federal agencies are not fully
participating in this system; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of
California, jointly, That a comprehensive federal approach to
reducing and preventing gun violence is needed to protect the
Second Amendment rights of law abiding citizens while ensuring
that our communities are safe from future mass shootings; and be
it further

Resolved, That the Legislature urges the President and the
Congress of the United States to promptly place under the scope
of the National Firearms Act generically defined assault weapons,
as now is the case with California, and high-capacity assault
magazines; and be it further

Resolved, That a universal background check through the
National Instant Criminal Background Check System should be
required for the transfer of all firearms; and be it further

Resolved, That the President of the United States should take
steps to ensure all states and applicable federal agencies are
reporting all necessary records to the National Instant Criminal
Background Check System; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the
Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative
from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the
author for appropriate distribution.

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CORRECTIONS:

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