BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY Senator Loni Hancock, Chair S 2013-2014 Regular Session B 2 9 3 SB 293 (DeSaulnier) As Introduced February 14, 2013 Hearing date: April 16, 2013 Penal Code SM:mc OWNER AUTHORIZED HANDGUNS HISTORY Source: Author Prior Legislation: SB 697 (DeSaulnier) - died in this Committee, 2009 AB 2235 (DeSaulnier) - died on suspense in Senate Appropriations, 2008 AB 1471 (Feuer) - Chap. 572, Statutes of 2007 Support: California Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence; Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence; several private citizens Opposition:California Association of Firearms Retailers; California Right to Carry; California Sportsman's (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageB Lobby; Crossroads of the West; National Shooting Sports Foundation; Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California; Safari Club International; National Rifle Association; California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees; California Rifle and Pistol Association; several letters and phone calls from private citizens KEY ISSUE SHOULD A SYSTEM OF "OWNER-AUTHORIZED HANDGUNS'" BE ENACTED, AS SPECIFIED? PURPOSE The purpose of this bill is to (1) define an "owner-authorized handgun"; (2) require the Attorney General, beginning July 1, 2014, and every July 1 thereafter through 2019, to submit a written report, as specified, to the Governor and the Legislature summarizing the current availability of owner-authorized handguns, and continue to submit reports until he or she has reported that owner-authorized handguns are available for retail sale; (3) amend handgun safety requirements, for both revolvers and pistols, beginning 18 months after the release of a report by the Attorney General reporting that owner-authorized handguns are available for retail sale, as specified, to require that all handguns must be owner-authorized handguns, as defined, except that this shall not apply to the sale, loan, or transfer of a revolver manufactured in or imported into this state prior to that date; (4) establish minimum performance standards for "owner-authorized handguns," as specified; and (5) provide that, beginning 18 months following the release of a report by the Attorney General reporting that owner-authorized handguns are available for retail sale, as (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageC specified, any person who intentionally disables or circumvents the technology of an owner-authorized handgun, other than a licensed firearms dealer as necessary to program the owner-authorized handgun, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 6 months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. Current law provides that beginning January 1, 2001, except as specified, any person in this state 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.) Current law defines an unsafe handgun as any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, which lacks various specified safety mechanisms and does not pass specified safety tests. (Penal Code § 31910.) Current law also provides that, beginning January 1, 2010, all semiautomatic pistols that are not already listed on the "not unsafe handgun" roster, must be designed and equipped with a microscopic array of characters that identify the make, model, and serial number of the pistol, etched or otherwise imprinted in two or more places on the interior surface or internal working parts of the pistol, and that are transferred by imprinting on each cartridge case when the firearm is fired, provided that the Department of Justice (DOJ) certifies that the technology used to create the imprint is available to more than one manufacturer unencumbered by any patent restrictions. The Attorney General may also approve a method of equal or greater reliability and effectiveness in identifying the specific serial number of a firearm from spent cartridge casings discharged by that firearm than that which is set forth in this paragraph, to be thereafter required as otherwise set forth by this paragraph where the Attorney General certifies that this new method is also unencumbered by any patent restrictions. Approval by the Attorney (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageD General shall include notice of that fact via regulations adopted by the Attorney General for purposes of implementing that method for purposes of this paragraph. (Penal Code § 31910.) This bill would require that, commencing 18 months following the release of a report by the Attorney General to the Legislature and the Governor reporting that owner-authorized handguns are available for retail sale, as specified, a handgun that it is not an owner-authorized handgun will be deemed "unsafe." However, this requirement shall not apply to the sale, loan, or transfer of a handgun manufactured in or imported into this state prior to that date. This bill provides that, in addition to complying with all other specified handgun safety requirements, owner-authorized handguns shall comply with the following performance standards: The firearm shall not fail to recognize the authorized user, and shall not falsely recognize an unauthorized user, more than one time per thousand recognition attempts. The time from first contact to use recognition and firearm enablement shall be no more than 0.5 seconds. The time from loss of contact with the authorized user to firearm disablement shall be no more than 0.5 seconds. When the firearm is enabled, the "ready" condition shall be indicated by a visible indicator. If the recognition technology on the firearm is battery operated, the firearm shall be equipped with a low power indicator that emits an audible signal. If the user is not recognized, or if the power supply fails, the firearm shall be inoperable. Enabling authorized user information shall be stored in the firearm as permanent memory that is restored when power is restored. The firearm shall be capable of use by more than (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageE one authorized user and, if the firearm uses hand recognition technology, it shall recognize either of the authorized user's hands. This bill defines an "owner-authorized handgun" as a handgun that has a permanent programmable biometric or other permanent programmable feature as part of its original manufacture that renders the handgun incapable of being fired except when activated by the lawful owner or other users authorized by the lawful owner, and that cannot be readily deactivated. This bill provides: An owner-authorized handgun shall only be programmed by a licensed firearms dealer. Biometric data collected for purposes of programming the owner-authorized handgun shall not be used for any purpose other than programming the owner-authorized handgun. The Department of Justice shall not retain any biometric data that may be stored in an owner-authorized handgun. This bill would require that beginning 18 months following the release of a report by the Attorney General to the Legislature and the Governor reporting that owner-authorized handguns are available for retail sale, no handgun may be submitted for testing by DOJ as a safe handgun if it is not an owner-authorized handgun, as defined. This bill would provide that the Attorney General shall, commencing July 1, 2014, and every July 1 thereafter through July 1, 2019, submit a written report to the Governor and the Legislature summarizing the current availability of owner-authorized handguns, as defined. The Attorney General shall continue to submit reports until he (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageF or she has reported that owner-authorized handguns are available for retail sale. Each report shall state whether owner-authorized handguns are available for retail sale, and if not, what progress, if any, has been made in the development of that technology since the previous report. Each report shall state what, if any, pressures exist within the firearms industry to deliberately withhold owner-authorized handguns from the market. The Attorney General shall consult with law enforcement agencies, firearms industry representatives, private technology providers, the State Department of Public Health, the University of California, other higher learning institutions, and other appropriate parties in making reports and recommendations pursuant to this section. Each report shall explicitly state all sources consulted and relied upon, including the names and affiliations of those sources, and shall be made publicly accessible. Once the Attorney General has reported that owner-authorized handguns are being produced and offered for sale in any state or country, the Attorney General shall contact the manufacturer in writing and inform it of the provisions of California law relating to owner-authorized handguns. The Attorney General shall invite the manufacturer to submit its owner-authorized handguns for testing at the manufacturer's expense. Owner-authorized handguns shall be deemed available for retail sale when at least one domestic or foreign manufacturer has submitted its owner-authorized handgun for testing and the Attorney General has determined that it meets certain performance standards, as specified, provided that the Attorney General may not certify that "owner-authorized handguns" are available for retail sale, unless the Attorney General has determined that either of the (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageG following requirements apply: o The manufacturer has the capacity to meet the reasonably expected demand of California residents for the new handguns; there is one technology that meets the required standards; and the manufacturer has provided written assurances that any applicable patents will either not be asserted or will be available for licensing on a nonexclusive basis on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms. o There are at least two technologies that meet the required standards. This bill provides that the requirement for the Attorney General to submitting this report is inoperative on January 1, 2020, as specified. This bill provides that beginning 18 months following the release of a report by the Attorney General to the Legislature and the Governor reporting that owner-authorized handguns are available for retail sale, as specified, any person who intentionally disables or circumvents the technology of an owner-authorized handgun, other than a licensed dealer as necessary to program the owner-authorized handgun, is guilty of a misdemeanor. RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION For the last several years, severe overcrowding in California's prisons has been the focus of evolving and expensive litigation relating to conditions of confinement. On May 23, 2011, the United States Supreme Court ordered California to reduce its prison population to 137.5 percent of design capacity within two years from the date of its ruling, subject to the right of the state to seek modifications in appropriate circumstances. Beginning in early 2007, Senate leadership initiated a policy to hold legislative proposals which could further (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageH aggravate the prison overcrowding crisis through new or expanded felony prosecutions. Under the resulting policy known as "ROCA" (which stands for "Receivership/ Overcrowding Crisis Aggravation"), the Committee held measures which created a new felony, expanded the scope or penalty of an existing felony, or otherwise increased the application of a felony in a manner which could exacerbate the prison overcrowding crisis. Under these principles, ROCA was applied as a content-neutral, provisional measure necessary to ensure that the Legislature did not erode progress towards reducing prison overcrowding by passing legislation which would increase the prison population. ROCA necessitated many hard and difficult decisions for the Committee. In January of 2013, just over a year after the enactment of the historic Public Safety Realignment Act of 2011, the State of California filed court documents seeking to vacate or modify the federal court order to reduce the state's prison population to 137.5 percent of design capacity. The State submitted in part that the, ". . . population in the State's 33 prisons has been reduced by over 24,000 inmates since October 2011 when public safety realignment went into effect, by more than 36,000 inmates compared to the 2008 population . . . , and by nearly 42,000 inmates since 2006 . . . ." Plaintiffs, who oppose the state's motion, argue in part that, "California prisons, which currently average 150% of capacity, and reach as high as 185% of capacity at one prison, continue to deliver health care that is constitutionally deficient." In an order dated January 29, 2013, the federal court granted the state a six-month extension to achieve the 137.5 % prisoner population cap by December 31st of this year. The ongoing litigation indicates that prison capacity and related issues concerning conditions of confinement remain unsettled. However, in light of the real gains in reducing the prison population that have been made, although even (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageI greater reductions are required by the court, the Committee will review each ROCA bill with more flexible consideration. The following questions will inform this consideration: whether a measure erodes realignment; whether a measure addresses a crime which is directly dangerous to the physical safety of others for which there is no other reasonably appropriate sanction; whether a bill corrects a constitutional infirmity or legislative drafting error; whether a measure proposes penalties which are proportionate, and cannot be achieved through any other reasonably appropriate remedy; and whether a bill addresses a major area of public safety or criminal activity for which there is no other reasonable, appropriate remedy. COMMENTS 1. Need for This Bill According to the author: SB 293 would require all newly manufactured or imported handguns in California to be owner-authorized, or personalized in a way that would allow them to be fired only by authorized persons. This requirement will take effect eighteen months following the release of a report by the California Attorney General that owner-authorized handguns are available for retail sale. Owner-authorized handguns will help to prevent both unintentional and intentional gun violence. Injuries, homicides, suicides, and accidental shootings could be significantly reduced in California. The illegal transfer of firearms (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageJ could also be reduced. An owner-authorized handgun could not be fired by a child or teen unless authorized by the parent or legal guardian, thereby establishing some parental control over the weapon. This would help prevent young people from accidentally shooting themselves and others, or committing suicide or homicide with handguns. Most parents would say that they keep their firearms locked away from their children, but all too often kids find the gun and tragedy follows. According to the Center for Disease Control, suicide is the fourth leading cause of death of children and teens; over 43% are committed with firearms. Despondent teens, or other depressed individuals who are not authorized users, would be unable to commit suicide with a personalized handgun. 2. Background - The Product-Safety Approach to Reducing Gun Violence In a 2002 issue of the journal "The Future of Children," a publication of The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and The Brookings Institution, researchers wrote the following: The Promise of Personalized Guns Some researchers believe that the most important change that could be made in the design of handguns to reduce the incidence of gun-related injuries, especially to children, would be to personalize guns. A "smart" gun would rely upon a personal identification number (PIN), a magnetic ring worn by the user, a radio-frequency device on the user's clothing or person, or fingerprint recognition technology to ensure that (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageK only an authorized user could actually fire the gun. Some technology to produce smart guns already exists; other technology seems feasible in the near future. Theoretically, handgun personalization would prevent unauthorized persons of any age-not just young children-from operating a firearm. Until these types of guns are widely available for use, however, their effectiveness remains unmeasured. It is not known how many firearm injuries personalization of guns may prevent. However, personalization technology could prevent the use of stolen handguns, thus shrinking the illegal gun market, and it could decrease access to firearms by adolescents and protect young children. An Emerging Technology In 1992, faculty at The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health commissioned three undergraduate engineering students to devise a personalized gun. With an investment of $2,000, and use of existing technology, the students converted a revolver so that only its authorized user could operate it. The gun's firing mechanism was blocked unless it was touched by an electronic "touch-memory" device. Only the handgun's authorized user had possession of the device. Today, the technology to make personalized guns is far more sophisticated. In the near future, personalized guns that identify the authorized user by a PIN programmed into a gun may be available for sale. This development would make possible an early version of a personalized gun. (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageL Another future version of a personalized gun could employ biometrics, such as fingerprint recognition, for identification of the authorized user. Computer chips already on the market for use in other products immediately scan fingerprints. Soon these chips will be made durable enough to withstand the trauma of gunfire and will be incorporated into guns. A personalized holster already on the market keeps a gun locked in its holster unless a device reads the fingerprint of an authorized user. Potential Advantages and Drawbacks of Personalized Guns Personalization has the potential to make guns less accessible to young people and therefore holds promise for reducing firearm injury and death. Personalized guns are not a panacea, however. The increased cost of the guns, the immense stock of nonpersonalized guns in this country, and the potential for an increase in gun sales once personalized guns enter the market make uncertain the precise impact of smart guns on the safety of children and youth. Personalized firearms would cost more than firearms sold today, although how much more is unknown. A national poll on gun ownership and safety found that 80% of people who would buy a personalized gun would buy one even if the personalization device added $100 to $300 to the price. Even so, it is unlikely that all, or even a significant proportion, of the nearly 200 million existing firearms in the United States would be retrofitted for personalization. The majority of these older weapons would remain available for use and purchase. Also unknown is how many people who do not currently own firearms would purchase personalized guns because they (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageM would seem safer than other guns. Would the rate of concealed- weapon carrying increase? How many mothers would buy a handgun for self-protection if the handgun were "childproof"? Although firearms would remain hazardous for children even with personalization, safer gun design could contribute to the broader strategy to prevent firearm injuries among children and adolescents. At the very least, young children could be protected from adult inattention to safe firearm storage. In a more complex set of circumstances, adolescents would have decreased access to operable firearms. Adolescents, proscribed by law from owning firearms, nevertheless have four types of access to guns: (1) unauthorized access to firearms in homes; (2) authorized access to firearms transferred from My, fiends, and acquaintances; (3) illegal purchase of firearms off the street or through retailers, either directly or through an intermediary; and (4) theft. The hope for personalization technology is that the firearm operating system would be individualized to the gun owner so that the illegal transfer of weapons, the utilization of stolen weapons, and other unauthorized weapon use could not occur or would occur only with great effort. Personalization could decrease the pool of readily usable firearms. Thus, for an adolescent, operating a firearm and obtaining an operable firearm would be more difficult and complicated. For adolescents, who frequently behave impulsively [], the time it would take to find a usable firearm or to make a firearm usable might result in a change of mind and a loss of interest. Personalization could thereby work to prevent many homicides, suicides, (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageN and unintentional injuries among children and adolescents. (Stephen P. Teret, J.D., M.P.H.; Patti L. Culross, M.D., M.P.H., The Future of Children, Vol. 12, No. 2, Children, Youth, and Gun Violence. (Summer - Autumn, 2002), pp. 118-131.) 3. Legislative Efforts Around Owner-Authorized Handguns Bills promoting owner-authorized handguns in some fashion have been introduced in several states<1> as well as in Congress.<2> In 2002, New Jersey passed the first state to require owner-authorized handguns, as soon as the technology becomes available. On December 23, 2002, the Associated Press reported: New Jersey on Monday became the first state to enact "smart gun" legislation that would eventually require new handguns to contain a mechanism that allows only their owners to fire them. The law will not go into effect immediately -------------------- <1> New York Assembly Bill 4878, introduced 1997; New Jersey Senate Bill 113, Assembly Bill 780, introduced 1998; Pennsylvania House Bill 1376, introduced 1999; Tennessee House Bill 0954, Senate Bill 0469, introduced 1999; Hawaii House Bill 41, introduced 2001; Los Angeles motion to require that handguns sold in the city incorporate safety features to prevent unauthorized or accidental firing by criminals, minors, and others, introduced 1999. <2> Children's Gun Violence Prevention Act of 1999, 106th Congress, 1st Session (March 25, 1999), H.R. 1342 and S. 735; Childproof Handgun Act of 1999, 106th Congress, 1st Session (January 28, 1999), S. 319; Childproof Handgun Act of 1999, 106th Congress, 1st Session (June 7, 1999), H.R. 2025; Concurrent Resolution Expressing the Sense of Congress in Support of the Development and Use of Firearms Personalization Technology, 106th Congress, 1st Session (June 7, 1999), H. Con. Res. 125. (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageO because the technology is still under development and it could be years before it becomes a reality. But supporters hailed it as an important milestone in the campaign to reduce handgun deaths. "This is common-sense legislation. There are safety regulations on cars, on toys. It's clearly time we have safety regulations on handguns," Gov. James E. McGreevey said at Monday's bill signing ceremony. (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,73763,00.html .) 4. Is This A Sole-Source Technology? The race appears to be on to develop this new technology. One group actively researching this technology is the New Jersey Institute of Technology: Since 1999, NJIT has spearheaded efforts to develop a personalized handgun that can instantly and reliably recognize one or more pre-programmed authorized users. To date, the New Jersey legislature has awarded NJIT $1.5 million for the project. In 2003, [Michael] Recce [PhD] received a patent for Dynamic Grip Recognition. The invention enabled NJIT electrical engineering professor Timothy Chang, PhD, assisted by a team of engineers, to embed multiple small electronic sensors in the grip. The sensors identify the user. The finished gun will eventually feature both electronic features and computerized parts. Recce sees his invention someday also being used in other applications-perhaps the yoke of a plane or a car's steering wheel. (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageP Also in 2003, NJIT signed an agreement with Metal Storm, which owns a patent for its Electronic Firing System that can be used in a handgun. Metal Storm's O'DwyerTM VLe system is a unique, patented approach to firing projectiles. Entirely electronic, the system utilizes preloaded barrels holding multiple projectiles that are fired by electronic ignition. For the first time, interchangeable and multiple barrels can be made available to fire a range of projectiles of varying calibers from the same handgun. (Spotlight: Smart Gun Technology Works, New Jersey Institute of Technology Newsroom, January 2005.) The NJIT researchers approach involves "Dynamic Grip Recognition," essentially, sensors in the guns handle are programmed to recognize the user's grip. The gun relies on Dynamic Grip Recognition, a biometric technology embedded in its handle. Sensors and microprocessors analyze the complex interplay of bones and muscles involved in pulling the trigger, all in a fraction of a second. "The way you hold a gun, curl your fingers, contract your hand muscles as you pull the trigger-all of those measurements are unique," says Donald Sebastian, vice president for research and development at NJIT. (A Smart Shooter?, Popsci.com, 12/20/2005, http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2005-12/smar t-shooter) However, the New Jersey researchers are not the only ones seeking to develop some type of owner authorized handgun. Background submitted by the author suggests that a different approach is being pursued by the Austrian NANOIDENT Group: Biometric recognition technology is used in many (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageQ applications to verify a person's identity, in order to prevent unauthorized access to restricted places and sensitive data. Properly applied, such technology can provide a highly reliable form of authentication, which could be used to ensure that only authorized persons are able to use a handgun. The realm of biometric sensors and related technology is about to experience a revolution. A very small number of companies are starting production of electronics using specialized printing techniques. For electronics, it represents a major departure from the old method of building up layers on silicon "chips," a method that could eventually become obsolete. Using organic polymer "inks" that are very specialized, the technique allows circuits to be printed on thin, flexible materials. Moreover, these optoelectronic circuits can now contain their own light sources, their own sensor arrays, and even their own displays. NANOIDENT Group, headquartered in Austria, is the market leader in this technology, merging the latest breakthroughs in materials science and nanotechnology. The combined set of these technical strides represents a giant leap for biometric access control, particularly well suited to smart guns. The biometric systems will be far less costly than silicon chips. They will be disposable, bendable, very light, ultra-thin and can be fashioned into any conceivable shape. In addition, they will be faster and more accurate at the core task of biometric sensing. In the proposed solution the sensor is a printed matrix sensor making direct contact with the palm skin surface. The emitted light from the (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageR sensor-integrated light source illuminates and penetrates the tissue of the user palm. The reflected light from the skin surface, subdermal tissue and vein structures is then captured by the sensor array. Thanks to the cost structure resulting from the printing technology, the size, the location, the form factor and the shape (possibly curved) of the sensor can be defined to optimize the performance (false acceptances and false rejections) of the smart gun biometric access control system. This makes the integration of the sensor into the smart gun handgrip easier while ensuring a reliable authentication. The combined analysis of skin surface, vein structure and sub-dermal properties also enables detection of any gummy fake biometrics that unauthorized users might use to fool the biometric system. The smart gun access control is thus more secure and reliable. The production capacity for such printed sensors is immediately available. Because of the necessary development work to integrate these solutions into smart gun applications, their mass production is planned to start by the first half of 2011, while the first prototypes demonstrating the solution are expected as early as the second half of 2009. (White Paper. New Sensor Technologies Enable Reliable and Secure Biometric Access Control for Smart Guns. NANOIDENT, April 01, 2008.) This bill describes a series of characteristics that "owner-authorized" handguns would be required to contain, if such technology becomes available. It appears that different researchers are attempting to create a weapon that would only allow a recognized user to fire it but (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageS through significantly different technologies. It appears that the requirements of the "owner authorized handgun" that would potentially be mandated by this bill could be met by more than one technological method and therefore by more than one supplier. Depending on the timing of when these technologies become viable, however, there could be a period of time when only one patented technology meets the requirements of what constitutes a safe handgun under the definition contained in this bill. In that case, the law could require handgun buyers to buy the product of one company. Because it is not clear that the technology has been developed to reliably meet the specifications of this bill, this question appears to be speculative at this point. 5. Constitutional Considerations The Second Amendment of the Constitution states, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." (United States Const. Amend. 2.) For years, courts and commentators have interpreted that language to mean that the right secured by the Second Amendment relates to firearm ownership only in the context of a "well regulated militia." This is known as the "collective rights" interpretation. In the landmark case of District of Columbia v. Heller, the United States Supreme Court rejected the "collective rights" view of the Second Amendment, and, instead, endorsed the "individual rights" interpretation, that the Second Amendment protects the right of each citizen to firearm ownership. After adopting this reading of the Second Amendment, the Supreme Court held that federal law may not prevent citizens from owning a handgun in their home. (District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 683-684.) Two years later, in McDonald v. City of Chicago, the Supreme Court extended this ruling to apply to laws passed by the 50 states. (McDonald v. City of Chicago, 130 S. Ct. 3020 (2010).) One question this bill poses is whether requiring firearms (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageT owners to buy only handguns that meet the specifications contained in this bill violates the right to home defense, as recognized in Heller. After deciding that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to firearm ownership, the Court applied that to the law in question: We turn finally to the law at issue here. As we have said, the law totally bans handgun possession in the home. It also requires that any lawful firearm in the home be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock at all times, rendering it inoperable. As the quotations earlier in this opinion demonstrate, the inherent right of self-defense has been central to the Second Amendment right. The handgun ban amounts to a prohibition of an entire class of "arms" that is overwhelmingly chosen by American society for that lawful purpose. The prohibition extends, moreover, to the home, where the need for defense of self, family, and property is most acute. Under any of the standards of scrutiny that we have applied to enumerated constitutional rights, banning from the home "the most preferred firearm in the nation to 'keep' and use for protection of one's home and family," would fail constitutional muster. (District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 628-629 (2008) (citations and footnotes omitted).) The law that the Supreme Court struck down in Heller required the firearms owner to render the firearm inoperable while they were at home. This bill would require, among other things, that if the user is not recognized, or if the power supply fails, the firearm shall be inoperable. Members may wish to consider whether requiring all handguns sold in California to become inoperable if the handgun's power supply fails is consistent with the ruling in Heller. (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageU 6. Argument in Support The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence states in part: The concept of an owner authorized handgun has been under discussion for over fifteen years. In 2002, New Jersey passed a law similar to SB 293. A number of technological solutions have been explored, but none had been sufficiently reliable. However, there have been recent advances in access control technologies and features for handguns and prototypes are becoming available. This technology has the potential to achieve very high authorized user recognition reliability and very short response times. (More) Once owner-authorized handguns are commercially available, accidental firearm injuries, homicides, and suicides could be significantly reduced. Personalized handguns would be inoperable by unauthorized users - including children, troubled young adults, and thieves - thereby helping to prevent intentional and unintentional gun violence in California. The tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School demonstrates the potential benefits of owner-authorized weapons. The shooter used his mother's guns - had they been equipped with owner-authorized technology, the mass shooting may have been averted. It is paramount that young people be prevented from inappropriate access to firearms. Every day in the U.S., eight children and teenagers are killed by a firearm; suicide is the fourth leading cause of death of young people. An owner-authorized handgun could not be fired by a child or teen; hence, curious small children could not accidentally shoot themselves or others, despondent teens could not shoot themselves, and troubled young people could not commit rampage school shootings with guns taken from home. Moreover, owner-authorized handguns provide a means to reduce gun trafficking since illegally obtained guns would not be operable. Stolen handguns that are personalized could not be fired. Similarly, handguns acquired through straw purchasers or gun traffickers could not be used. These illegally obtained handguns are the weapons that fuel the gun violence in our urban streets. 7. Argument in Opposition (More) SB 293 (DeSaulnier) PageW Safari Club International states: Many hunters use handguns for hunting. By mandating "user authorized" handgun technology, SB 293 would make it impossible for a hunter who does not wish to purchase "user authorized" technology to buy a handgun without it. There are many situations in the field where hunting takes place, or the shooting range where marksmanship practice takes place, when a hunter may wish for someone else to use or to evaluate their handgun. The handgun may be in need of repair or service by a gunsmith. It would be impossible for a handgun owner to foresee all of these situations and to pre-authorize selected other persons to be able to discharge his or her firearm. The bill provides no testing standards or procedures for manufacturers and the Attorney General to follow in determining whether a given "user authorized" design is in compliance. How would the Attorney General or a manufacturer know how to proceed in making such a determination? Furthermore, consumers who do not want to buy "user authorized" features should not be mandated to purchase them. It should be a matter of individual choice whether to buy a handgun employing this technology, if it is ever developed. ***************