BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    







             SENATE COMMITTEE ON Public Safety
                   Senator John Vasconcellos, Chair   A
                      1999-2000 Regular Session       B

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AB 202 (Knox)                                         
As Amended April 6, 1999 
Hearing date:  June 8, 1999
Penal Code
SH:br

                     HANDGUN PURCHASES -

       LIMIT TO ONE PER INDIVIDUAL PER 30-DAY PERIOD  


                          HISTORY

Source:   Author

Prior Legislation: SB 513 (Hayden) - provisions  
subsequently deleted (1997-98)
                 AB 532 (Knox) - died on Assembly floor  
inactive file (1997-98)
                 SB 1277 (Hart) - died on Senate floor  
(1993-94)                                         

Support:  City of Oakland; Santa Clara County Board of  
     Supervisors; League of                  California  
     Cities; California Teachers Association; City of West   
          Hollywood; Handgun Control; City of Los Angeles;  
     Los Angeles Police       Department; California Nurses  
     Association; California Peace Officers'                 
          Association; California Police Chiefs'  
     Association; ACLU; Legal      Community Against  
     Violence; Los Angeles County District Attorney's        
     Office; Attorney General's Office; California Church  
     IMPACT; California       Child, Youth and Family  




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     Coalition; Violence Prevention Coalition of        
     Greater Los Angeles; Trauma Foundation; Orange County  
     Citizens for the    Prevention of Gun Violence;  
     California District, American Academy of           
     Pediatrics; Mayor, City of Hayward; Gray Panthers of  
     Northern California; City of Alameda; Women Against  
     Gun Violence; Physicians      for a Violence-free  
     Society; individual letters

Opposition:              California Shooting Sports  
     Association; California Rifle and Pistol Association;  
     National Rifle Association; Gun Owners of Californian;  
          Peace Officers Research Association of  
     California; individual letters

Assembly Floor Vote:  Ayes  42 - Noes  30



                                    KEY ISSUE
  
SHOULD HANDGUN PURCHASES FROM LICENSED DEALERS IN CALIFORNIA BE LIMITED TO NO  
MORE THAN ONE PER PERSON PER MONTH, AS SPECIFIED?


                          PURPOSE

The purpose of this bill is to generally limit purchases of  
handguns from licensed firearms dealers in California to no  
more than one per person per month, as specified.

  Existing law  governs the sale and purchase of firearms in  
California.  Various restrictions are placed on the  
purchase of firearms, including a pistol, revolver, or  
firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, such as  
a background check, a waiting period, and generally the  
presentation of a basic firearm safety certificate.   
Transactions between private parties are subject to those  
restrictions as well and must be made through a licensed  
dealer or a law enforcement agency in smaller counties.   




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Persons in prohibited categories may not purchase or  
possess firearms at all.  (Penal Code sections 12070 -  
12086)

  This bill  prohibits any person from applying to purchase  
more than one concealable firearm from a licensed firearms  
dealer within a 30-day period and provides that no delivery  
shall be made to any person who has made an application to  
purchase more than one concealable firearm within 30 days,  
as follows: 

     1)  Provides that no person shall make an application  
     to purchase more than one pistol, revolver or other  
     firearm capable of being concealed on the person from  
     a licensed firearms dealer within any 30-day period.   
     Exempts private party transactions (which must be made  
     through a licensed firearms dealer or a sheriff's  
     office in smaller counties); law enforcement;  
     entertainment/theatrical companies; licensed  
     collectors; and the exchange, replacement or return of  
     a concealable firearm under specified conditions.

     2)  Provides the following penalties for making an  
     application for more than one concealable firearm in  
     any 30-day period:

       a)  A first violation is an infraction punishable by  
       a fine of $50;

       b)  A second violation is an infraction punishable  
       by a fine of $100; and,

       c)  A third or subsequent violation is a misdemeanor  
       (punishable in the county jail up to six months, or  
       by a fine not greater than $1,000, or both, pursuant  
       to Penal Code section 19).

     3)  Provides that each application to purchase a  
     concealable firearm in violation of these provisions  
     shall be deemed a separate offense.




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     4)  Prohibits delivery of such firearms by a licensed  
     dealer to any person who has made an application to  
     purchase more than one pistol, revolver, or other  
     firearm capable of being concealed on the person  
     within any 30-day period when the dealer is notified  
     by the Department of Justice that a person has made  
     more than one application to purchase such firearms  
     within that time period (punishable as a  
     misdemeanor/felony).

     5)  Makes related changes and additions to law,  
     including a requirement that licensed firearms dealers  
     must post a notice about the provisions of this bill.

                          COMMENTS

1.   Need for This Bill  

According to the author:

     There is no limit on the number of handguns that may  
     be purchased from a dealer.  This makes it easy for  
     straw purchasers to acquire guns for another person or  
     for street dealers to acquire guns legitimately.   
     Handguns make up an overwhelming share of crime guns  
     and a significant number are traceable to dealer  
     transactions.  AB 202 will curtail the illegal gun  
     market, disarm criminals, and save lives by preventing  
     multiple purchases of handguns through legitimate  
     channels.  Preventing multiple purchases takes the  
     profit out of black market sales and puts gun  
     traffickers and straw purchasers out of business.

2.   Existing Law Pertaining to Firearms Purchases  

The sale, loan or transfer of a firearm must generally be  
conducted by or through a state licensed firearms dealer or  
through a local sheriff's department in counties of less  
than 200,000 persons.  As part of this process, the 10-day  




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waiting period/background check/handgun safety certificate  
are required prior to delivery of the firearm.  In  
addition, handguns are centrally registered with DOJ as  
part of this process.

A violation of these provisions as to handguns is an  
alternate felony/misdemeanor punishable by up to one year  
in the county jail or by imprisonment in the state prison  
punishable by 16 months, two or three years.

Bulk purchase limits are aimed at so-called "straw  
transactions".  A straw transaction usually involves "A"  
buying the gun for "B" because "B" may not legally buy the  
gun.  These types of transactions may occur in various  
circumstances.  Typically, they occur because the true  
purchaser is under age 21, has a specified prior  
conviction, has a mental disorder, or is not a resident.

Straw transactions violate state law.

Straw transactions also violate federal law.  It is  
reported that people travel to a state with weaker gun  
laws, acquire guns in that state, and then transport them  
back into their state of residency.

The federal Gun Control Act is designed to, among other  
provisions, require residents of a state to acquire  
firearms in their own state of residence.  It does so by  
two means.  First, a person cannot acquire a firearm in one  
state and then personally transport it into his/her own  
state of residency.  He or she cannot receive the gun  
unless the gun is being processed through a federal  
firearms dealer in that state, who must follow state law on  
gun deliveries.

In addition, a person who is not a federal firearms  
licensee cannot deliver a firearm to a resident of another  
state who is not federally licensed.  The only way that  
such a transaction can occur is if the transaction is  
brokered through a federal firearms licensee in the  




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recipient's state of residence.

The 1994 federal crime bill made it an enhanced criminal  
offense for an individual to go into another state to  
acquire firearms and then return to his or her own state  
and sell those firearms.  (See 18 USC 923(m).)

3.   Assumptions about Limits on Purchases of Handguns  

The State of Virginia enacted a "one-handgun-a-month" law  
in 1993 (before the Federal Brady Bill, which required at  
least a five day waiting period plus a background check for  
states without such requirements).  That state had weak  
restrictions on handgun sales and it has been stated that  
gun traffickers from New York City routinely traveled to  
Virginia to purchase quantities of weapons to take back for  
illegal sale in other states.  Purchases of more than one  
handgun per 30-day period in Virginia is allowed upon  
completion of an "enhanced" background check when the  
purchase is for lawful business or personal use, for  
purposes of collectors, bulk sales and purchases from  
estates, to replace a lost or stolen weapon, and similar  
situations.

Supporters of limits on purchases of handguns assume that  
the Virginia limits and the limits in this bill would only  
affect a very small proportion of legitimate handgun  
purchasers.  A family of two adults could still purchase 24  
handguns a year under the provisions of both this bill and  
the Virginia law.

4.   Multiple Handgun Purchases in California  

Information provided by the Department of Justice indicates  
that in 1998, there were 141,823 lawful handgun purchases  
in California which involved one transferee and one handgun  
in a single calendar month.  There were 12,989 transactions  
involving one tranferee who obtained two handguns in single  
calendar month; 2,282 involved three handguns in a single  
month transferred to the same individual; and 91 transfers  




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which involved one transferee and more than 10 handguns in  
a single calendar month.  Other multiple handgun  
transactions include one person in July of 1998 who  
obtained 41 to 80 handguns.

Those figures include persons who would be exempted by this  
bill, such as a licensed collector, and transactions  
between private parties which were lawfully made through a  
licensed dealer or a sheriff's office.

Previous information for the Department of Justice provided  
to this Committee indicated that in 1992 there were 2,784  
persons who purchased five or more handguns and in 1993  
there were 2,877 persons who purchased five or more  
handguns.

Since this bill would allow twelve handgun purchases a  
year, it would appear that this bill would have affected a  
relatively small number of purchasers in any given year.   
It could, of course, inconvenience some of those purchasers  
if their desire is to purchase all twelve handguns at one  
time.

The DOJ figures also indicate that in 1993, 245 individuals  
purchased 12 or more handguns.  The number of persons who  
purchased 20 or more handguns dwindles rapidly with only 83  
purchasing more than 20 handguns in 1993.  However, one  
person did purchase 84 handguns that year.

5.   Local Ordinances Limiting Handgun Purchases
  
Some local ordinances limiting handgun purchases in local  
areas have been enacted in California.  For example,  
background provided by the author includes a copy of Los  
Angeles Municipal Code Section 55.14 on which is  
handwritten "1/27/99 LA Council approved."  That ordinance  
is very similar to AB 202 as currently amended, although  
the LA ordinance does contain an exemption for "collector's  
series or a bulk purchase from an estate" and the penalty  
dealer violations is assumed to be a misdemeanor.  AB 202  




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does not contain that exemption and the penalty for dealer  
violations in the bill is an alternate misdemeanor/felony.

Government Code section 53071 declares the ". . . intention  
of the Legislature to occupy the whole field of regulation  
of the registration or licensing of commercially  
manufactured firearms as encompassed by the provisions of  
the Penal Code, and such
provisions shall be exclusive of all local regulations,  
relating to registration or licensing of commercially  
manufactured firearms . . ." which would indicate that AB  
202 would preempt such local ordinances.  The City of Los  
Angeles is in support of AB 202, presumably because a local  
ordinance would not stop city residents from purchasing  
handguns outside of the city or any other city which  
individually has adopted such a restriction.

6.   Additional Issues Raised by This Bill
  
As noted above, this bill does not contain an exemption for  
collector's series or bulk purchases from an estate.   
Individuals would be allowed to make those kinds of  
purchases from other individuals under this bill - through  
a dealer, as required - and those handguns could be sold  
either to a dealer, possibly an auction house, or to a  
dealer or other entity out of state.  However, individuals  
would not be allowed to make such purchases from licensed  
firearms dealers.  Both the Los Angeles ordinance cited  
above and SB 513 from last year provided an exception, as  
follows:

  The purchase of firearms in a collector's series or a  
bulk purchase from an
  estate sale.

WOULD IT BE APPROPRIATE TO ADD SUCH AN EXCEPTION TO THIS  
BILL?

[NOTE:  AB 295 (Corbett) is going to be heard in this  
Committee at a future hearing; as passed by the Assembly,  




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it would appear to generally require any bulk sales to be  
made only by a licensed dealer, which, if enacted, would  
change the impact of AB 202 on such transactions.]

This bill makes an alternate misdemeanor/felony penalty  
applicable to a licensed firearms dealer who delivers a  
handgun to a purchaser after the Department of Justice has  
notified the dealer that the purchaser has made another  
application to purchase a handgun in violation of the  
30-day period limit.  Since a licensed firearms dealer may  
not be granted a license if the dealer has any prior felony  
conviction - as well as specified misdemeanor penalties -  
there is no common "three-strikes" issue raised by this  
bill.  SB 513 from last session contained a misdemeanor  
penalty for such violations.

[NOTE:  The Legislative Counsel's Digest for AB 202  
indicates the dealer penalty is a misdemeanor; that is  
partially correct since the actual penalty would be an  
alternate misdemeanor/felony.]

7.   How Would This Bill Work if Enacted?  

The prohibition on handgun purchases in this bill is  
triggered by the "application" to purchase which presumably  
is manifest by the transmission of the background request  
to the Department of Justice by the licensed dealer.  This  
bill does not limit transactions in a 30-day period by the  
actual delivery of a handgun to a purchaser.  SB 29  
(Peace), as amended on April 27, 1999, added language which  
would allow the Department of Justice to require licensed  
dealers to report to the department when a handgun is  
actually delivered to a purchaser.  Current law -SB 63  
(Peace)/Chapter 908, Statutes of 1998 - does require that  
dealers notify customers that federal law requires a  
subsequent background check if actual possession of a  
firearm is not taken within 30 days of the completion of  
the background check and does require a dealer to notify  
the department if a firearm is not delivered within that  
30-day period.




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It is foreseeable that some purchasers change their minds  
and do not actually take possession of a handgun which they  
have initially agreed to purchase and which has resulted in  
an "application" being forwarded to the department.   
Whether or not the "application" alone, and not the actual  
transfer of the handgun, would preclude such a purchaser  
from "applying" to purchase another handgun with the 30-day  
limit is possibly unclear.  It may be that the department  
would administratively devise a method to "void" an  
"application" and it may also be that such occurrences  
would be relatively rare.

Whether or not a limit on purchases in a 30-day period  
would be "fairer" if it applied to "delivery" or taking  
possession is debatable.

8.   Opposition to This Bill
  
The National Rifle Association opposition to this bill  
includes:

     [AB 32] proposes that no person could "take title" to  
     more than one handgun during a 30-day period.   
     However, [AB 32] would also exempt a daunting list of  
     people, agencies, firearms and specific types of  
     transactions from that restriction.  The underlying  
     notions that drive AB 32 are:
     - The existing background check, registration and  
     waiting period for handguns is ineffective and/or
     - Law enforcement makes little or no effort to  
     investigate "straw" sales.

     Once again the rationale for a new gun control bill is  
     the "failure of the old".

The NRA goes on to ask why so many peace officers,  
including for example "a county water district security  
officer (830.34 Penal Code)" who collects guns should be  
able to purchase unlimited handguns while a concealed  




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weapons permit holder or a retired peace officer could not.











































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The NRA has also suggested that if "straw" sales are of  
concern, multiple purchases of handguns could involve a  
20-day waiting period, a set time and date for transfer,  
and notification to local law enforcement about when the  
transfer is scheduled to take place.
The presumption is that a purchaser buying more than one  
relatively expensive handgun is not as likely to be engaged  
in straw sales as a purchaser of relatively inexpensive  
handguns.

The California Rifle and Pistol Association asserts that  
existing penalties are already sufficient to deter illegal  
sales in general.


9.   Other Legislation which Amends Penal Code Section 12071  

This bill amends Penal Code section 12071 by adding another  
notice which dealers must post.

Other bills which also amend Penal Code section 12071 - and  
have moved to the second house during 1999, include AB 32  
(Scott); AB 295 (Corbett); AB 988 (Lowenthal),
AB 1142 (Soto); and SB 29 (Peace).  SB 666 is the annual  
maintenance of the codes bill and it too amends Penal Code  
section 12071, however that bill contains a general  
"repealer" for any code section it amends and which is also  
amended by any other bill during the session year.

Given the number of bills, which amend section 12071, there  
will need to be some creative work accomplished if several  
of those bills are sent to the Governor and if conflict  
issues are to be resolved.


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