BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2152
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 6, 2010
Chief Counsel: Gregory Pagan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 2152 (Nielsen) - As Introduced: February 18, 2010
SUMMARY : Exempts an honorably discharged member of the United
States Armed Forces, the National Guard, the Air National Guard,
or active reserve components of the United States from having to
obtain a handgun safety certificate in order to purchase a
handgun.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Exempts an honorably retired member of the United States Armed
Forces, the National Guard, the Air National Guard, or active
reserve components of the United States from having to obtain
a handgun safety certificate in order to purchase a handgun.
[Penal Code Section 12807(a)(10).]
2)Prohibits, effective January 1, 2003, any person from doing
either of the following:
a) Purchasing or receiving any handgun, except as
specified, without a valid handgun safety certificate; or,
b) Selling, delivering, transferring, or loaning any
handgun to a person who does not have a valid handgun
safety certificate. [Penal Code Section 12801(b).]
3)Requires the license applicant to complete and pass a written
test prescribed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and
administered by an instructor certified by DOJ. The test
shall include:
a) The laws applicable to carrying and handling firearms,
particularly handguns;
b) The responsibilities of ownership of firearms,
particularly handguns;
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c) Current law as it relates to the sale and transfer of
firearms laws;
d) Current law as it relates to the permissible use of
lethal force;
e) What constitutes safe firearm storage;
f) Risks associated with bringing handguns into the home;
and,
g) Prevention strategies to address issues associated with
bringing firearms into the home. (Penal Code Sections
12804 and 12805.)
4)Requires a handgun safety certificate to include, but not be
limited, to the following information:
a) A unique handgun safety certificate number;
b) The holder's full name;
c) The holder's date of birth;
d) The holder's drivers license or identification number;
e) The holder's signature;
f) The signature of the issuing instructor; and,
g) The date of issuance. [Penal Code Section 12806(a).]
5)Provides that a handgun safety certificate shall expire five
years after the date it was issued by a certified instructor.
[Penal Code Section 12806(b).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Peace officers
and members of the military put their lives on the line
everyday. In the course of their training, they have had
substantial time working with firearm, and sufficiently
understand how to operate one. However, it makes no sense to
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discriminate against one group of veterans (Honorably
Discharged) and give preferential treatment to another group
(Honorably Retired).
"This bill simply clarifies an inequity in the law that
discriminates against one group of veterans. Honorably
Discharged members of the military should not be treated any
different than Honorably Retired. AB 2152 would add Honorably
Discharged members of the military to the narrow list of
exempt from needing to attain a Handgun Safety Certificate,
the same as Honorably Retired Peace Officers and Active and
Reserve Duty members of the Military."
2)California Firearms Law : Issuance of a handgun safety
certificate requires an applicant to pass an objective test
requiring knowledge of California firearms law. Specifically,
an applicant is required to know the law applicable to the
handling and carrying of firearms, the private sale and
transfer of firearms, and permissible use of lethal force. An
honorably discharged member of the military forces would not
necessarily have any knowledge of the firearms law, which is
required to pass the examination. Should this type of person
be exempt from having to take the examination to obtain a
handgun safety certificate?
3)History : SB 52 (Scott), Chapter 942, Statutes of 2001
repealed the Basic Firearms Safety and Certificate Program and
replaced that program with a Handgun Safety Licensing Program.
SB 52 provided that, effective January 1, 2003, no person may
purchase, transfer, receive, or sell a handgun without a
Handgun Safety Certificate. SB 52 exempted active or
honorably retired members of the military and active military
reserve personnel. SB 52 was amended April 5, 2001 to create
the exemptions to the requirement that person purchaser must
obtain a Handgun Safety Certificate in order to purchase a
firearm. The April 5, 2001 amendment exempted active military
and military reserve personnel from the requirement. SB 52
was amended again on June 4, 2001 and added honorably retired
members of the military to the military exemption provision.
It is clear from these amendments that honorably retired
members of the military were specifically excluded from the
military exemption or they would have been included when
retired military members were added.
4)Argument in Support : According to the National Shooting
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Sports Foundation, Inc ., "Honorably discharged members of the
armed forces went through firearms safety training while in
the military. They already know the principles of safe
firearms handling and procedures. Requiring them to
additionally obtain a state Basic Firearms Safety Certificate,
and to incur the costs of doing so, as a prerequisite to
purchasing a handgun is unnecessary. They already have
knowledge of firearms and the safe handling of them."
5)Argument in Opposition : According to the Legal Community
Against Violence , "Under current California law, subject to
limited exceptions, any person intending to purchase or
receive a handgun must obtain a Handgun Safety Certificate and
present the certificate to a firearms dealer prior to
receiving the handgun. In order to obtain a Handgun Safety
Certificate, an applicant must successfully pass an objective
written test that covers, among other topics: California law
applicable to carrying and handling guns, the responsibilities
of handgun ownership, current state law related to the private
sale of firearms, current law related to the permissible use
of lethal force, safe firearm storage, and the issues
associated with bringing a handgun into the home."
6)Prior Legislation :
a) AB 201 (Samuelian), of the 2003-04 Legislative Session,
similarly would have exempted honorably discharged members
of the United States Armed Forces, the National Guard, the
Air National Guard, or active reserve components of the
United States from having to obtain a handgun safety
certificate in order to purchase a handgun. AB 201 failed
passage in this Committee.
b) AB 2081 (Briggs), of the 2001-02 Legislative Session,
similarly would have exempted an honorably discharged
member of the United States Armed Forces, the National
Guard, the Air National Guard, or active reserve components
of the United States from having to obtain a handgun safety
certificate in order to purchase a handgun. AB 2081 failed
passage in this Committee.
c) SB 1615 (Johannessen), of the 2001-02 Legislative
Session, would have similarly exempted an honorably
discharged member of the United States Armed Forces, the
National Guard, the Air National Guard, or active reserve
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components of the United States from having to obtain a
handgun safety certificate in order to purchase a handgun.
SB 1615 was never heard by the Senate Public Safety
Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Association of Firearms Retailers
California Rifle and Pistol Association, Inc.
California Sportsman's Lobby
Gun Owners of California
National Rifle Association of America
National Shooting Sports Foundation
National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc
Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California
Peace Officers Research Association
Safari Club International
Opposition
California Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun
Violence
Legal Community Against Violence
Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744