BILL ANALYSIS
SB 933
Date of Hearing: June 13, 1995
Counsel: Donald J. Currier
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Paula L. Boland, Chair
SB 933 (Polanco) - As Amended: May 9, 1995
ISSUE: SHOULD THE MANUFACTURE AND POSSESSION OF CONCEALABLE
FIREARMS NOT CONFORMING TO FEDERAL IMPORTATION REQUIREMENTS
BE BANNED IN CALIFORNIA?
DIGEST
Under current law:
1) Certain firearms are banned from importation under federal law.
(18 U.S.C. 925(d)(3).)
2) It is an alternate felony/misdemeanor to manufacture, import,
sell, loan or possess specified disguised firearms and other
deadly weapons, including plastic firearms, cane or wallet
guns, flechette darts, multiburst trigger activators,
nunchakus, short-barreled shotguns and rifles, leaded canes,
zip guns, unconventional pistols, cane blackjacks, and metal
knuckles. A violation is punishable by 16 months, two or three
years in prison, or up to one year in county jail. (Penal Code
section 12020.)
This bill amends the Penal Code to ban the manufacture and
possession of "nonsporting handguns" as determined by the United
States Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to paragraph (3) of
subsection (d) of Section 925 of Title 18 of the United States
Code. 18 U.S.C. 925 refers the reader to 26 USC 5845(a) for the
determination of a firearm that is generally recognized as readily
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adaptable to sporting purposes, excluding military surplus
firearms. 26 USC 5845(a) refers to 27 CFR 179. 27 CFR 179 defines
machine-guns, shotguns, and other firearms.
COMMENTS
1) Purpose. According to the author:
Many handguns manufactured in California are poorly made,
unreliable, unsafe, and could not legally be imported into
the United States if made elsewhere. Many of these unsafe
guns are disproportionately used in crime. Across the
country, lists of guns most frequently confiscated by law
enforcement agencies are dominated by these unsafe
handguns, mostly manufactured in California by the "Ring of
Fire".
To halt the production of these unsafe guns in the State
of California, we should require that guns made under our
jurisdiction meet the criteria applied to imports.
These guns are manufactured by six California companies -
Bryco Arms of Costa Mesa; Arcadia Machine and Tool, in
Irwindale; Davis Industries, in Mira Loma; Lorcin
Engineering, also in Mira Loma; Phoenix Arms, in Ontario;
and Sundance Industries, in Valencia. These companies
produced an alarming 685,934 handguns in 1992, or 34
percent of all handguns made in the United States. In
1992, these companies made over 80 percent of the "Saturday
Night Specials" produced in this country.
The Federal Factoring Criteria was adopted pursuant to the
1968 Gun Control Act, which was supported by the NRA to
stop the importation of unsafe, low quality handguns.
California has the responsibility of ensuring that we no
longer manufacture, sale or possess handguns that have been
deemed unsafe by the Federal Government. This bill brings
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about consistency and accountability to the issue of
handgun safety.
2) Federal Regulation of Saturday Night Specials. At the federal
level, the importation of "Saturday Night Specials" has been
banned through the enactment of the Gun Control Act of 1968.
Section 925(d)(3) of the act provides that a firearm shall be
imported if it is of a type "...generally recognized as
particularly suitable for, or readily adaptable to, sporting
purposes."
A factoring criteria is employed by the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) to determine if the weapon is of the
prohibited type. The ATF form (4880) has a disclaimer that
reads "The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms reserves the
right to preclude importation of any revolver or pistol which
achieves an apparent qualifying score, but does not adhere to
the provisions of section 925 (d)(3) of Amended Chapter 44,
Title 18, U.S.C." It is unclear whether or not the ATF would
have the de facto power to ban a particular handgun in
California under this bill. Is this the author's intent?
The factoring criteria is based on a point system. First, the
firearm must meet all of the prerequisites. If it is a pistol,
it must have a manually operated safety device. The combined
length and height must be not less than ten inches with the
height being at least four inches and the length at least six
inches. If the firearm is a revolver, it must have an overall
frame length of at least four and one-half inches and a barrel
length of at least three inches. A point value is assigned to
the handgun's individual characteristics such as length of
barrel, overall length, frame construction, weight, caliber,
safety features, type of sight, trigger, hammer and grip.
3) Potential Effect. The new prohibited class of "nonsporting
handgun" is placed in Penal Code Section 12020(a). Under
existing Penal Code Section 12029, all such prohibited weapons
- unless otherwise excluded - are classified as nuisances, and
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the Attorney General, district attorney, or city attorney may
bring an action to enjoin the manufacture of, importation of,
keeping for sale of, offering or exposing for sale, giving,
lending, or possession of any of the foregoing items. Section
12029 further provides for the destruction of such items.
Presumably, those enforcing this bill would either seek
evaluation by the federal ATF of suspect weapons or would
themselves apply the federal criteria. The point system would
be extremely difficult to apply by line police officers in the
field.
5) Definition of "Saturday Night Special." Proponents of a ban on
"Saturday Night Specials" point to statistics that show most
crimes are accomplished with cheap, unsafe handguns. This bill
would ban some weapons that fit squarely into the category of
"Saturday Night Specials", but certainly not all of them. For
example, it would do nothing to affect the importation and sale
of the Russian 9 mm Makarov, which can be found for sale in gun
stores in Sacramento for approximately $119. It would,
however, cast a large net that encompasses many well-made,
expensive handguns used primarily for self-defense. Such guns
would include Smith and Wesson Model 49 Bodyguard revolvers
that retail for around $424, Walther PPK and Sig Sauer P230
pistols retailing between $400 - $500, and American Derringer
Semmerling LM-4 which retail for as much as $1,875. All
two-inch revolvers currently employed by police detectives
throughout the state, such as the Colt Detective Special would
be banned if manufactured after January 1, 1996.
6) Other Legislation. AB 1848 of 1992 proposed a melting point
test for gang guns of 800 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the
melting point adopted for Saturday Night Special bans in
Hawaii, Illinois, and South Carolina. A committee analysis of
AB 1848 indicated that the proposed standard is derived from
the South Carolina Code of Laws (1976), Sec. 23-31-180, where
handguns failing the 800-degree test are considered Saturday
Night Specials. For purposes of enforcement, the State Police
issues a list of prohibited models to retail pistol dealers,
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local police, and other relevant parties.
SB 1118 (Watson) from this session proposes a ban on all
handguns which are manufactured of materials which have a
melting point under 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, an ultimate
tensile strength of less than 55,000 pounds, or any powdered
metal having a density of less than 7.5 grams per cubic
centimeter. That is a test used in Minnesota to ban such
weapons.
Maryland created a Handgun Roster Board which issues
twice-yearly a list of permitted handguns that are useful for
legitimate sporting, self-protection, or law enforcement
purposes. (Code of Maryland, Art. 27, Section 36-J.) Factors
considered by the Board include concealability, ballistic
accuracy, weight, quality of materials, quality of
manufactured, reliability as to safety, caliber, detectability
by standard security equipment, and overall utility for
legitimate sporting, self-protection, or law enforcement
purposes.
7) Proponents to this Bill. Proponents of this bill all agree
that cheaply made and unsafe handguns should be banned in
California. According to "Women Against Gun Violence,"
Saturday Night Specials are not subject to any safety standards
and are "especially dangerous because they are very poorly made
and unreliable. They often misfire and are inaccurate...."
The "Legal Community Against Violence" supports SB 933 because
the banned guns "are unsuitable for any sporting or
self-protection purposes."
8) Opponents to this Bill. Opponents of this bill point out that
this measure would ban expensive, well-made handguns, in addition
to the firearms that are the target of the author's intended ban.
According to the National Rifle Association (NRA), handguns
used extensively by detectives, off-duty police officers, and
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retired officers would be the subject to this ban. Most
"back-up" guns carried by on-duty police officers would be
included in this ban. There is no exemption for peace
officers. Only those guns manufactured after January 1, 1996
would be affected. It would be impractical to expect a police
officer in the field to determine the year of manufacture for
two-inch revolvers that have no indication of the year
manufactured by outward appearance.
According to the NRA, information release from the Stockton
Police Department regarding CCW permits as of September 7, 1994
show that at least 61 out of 220 gun permits issued were for
weapons that would be banned under this bill. Would this not
refute the claim that almost all proponents have made, that
firearms banned under this bill have no legitimate self-defense
use?
According to the Senate Criminal Procedure Committee analysis,
"Opponents to this type of measure generally argue that the
prohibition of a class of weapon, harmless in itself, is an
unfair approach to the problem of criminal use. They argue for
better law enforcement and greater criminal sanctions. More
specifically, in the case of Saturday Night Specials it is
argued that prohibition of a class of firearm merely because of
its low price works an unfair burden upon law-abiding,
low-income people who are as entitled to obtain weapons for
self-defense or sport as any other citizen. To remove low cost
items from the market might simply disarm a significant portion
of the population most often finding itself threatened by
neighborhood violence."
SOURCE: Author
SUPPORT: Legal Community Against Violence
California Probation, Parole and Correctional
Association
Los Angeles Deputy Sheriff, Inc.
Los Angeles District Attorney's Office
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University of California, San Francisco
Fontana Police Department
El Segundo Police Department
St. Joseph Health System
Center for Health Care Ethics
California Peace Officers' Association (CPOA)
City of Richmond
City of San Francisco
City of Huntington Beach
City of Santa Barbara
City of Sacramento
City of Los Angeles
City of Los Angeles, Office of the Chief legislative
Analyst
County of Los Angeles
California Church IMPACT
California Academy of Family Physicians
California Organization of Police and Sheriffs
Calexico Police Department
Lutheran Office of Public Policy, California
Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Sacramento
Women Against Gun Violence
Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles
Handgun Control Inc.
Fresno County Democratic Women's Club
Private Citizens
OPPOSITION:American Shooting Sports Council, Inc.
California Rifle and Pistol Association
National Rifle Association
Law Enforcement Alliance of America
Gun Owners of California
Private Citizens
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