BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2609
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Date of Hearing: April 20, 2010
Chief Counsel: Gregory Pagan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 2609 (Anderson) - As Introduced: April 19, 2010
SUMMARY : Exempts honorably discharged members of the United
States military from being required to obtain a handgun safety
certificate in order to purchase a handgun.
1)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.
2)Requires a firearm licensee, at the time a firearm is
delivered to a purchaser, provide to every handgun purchaser
that is exempt from possessing a handgun safety certificate, a
copy of the instruction manual on handgun safety published by
the Department of Justice (DOJ).
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
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test prescribed by the 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;
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).]
AB 2609
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "AB 2609 will
re-instate honorably discharged veterans as part of the group
of those who are exempt from obtaining the Handgun Safety
Certificate (HSC), which California requires to purchase a
handgun. Honorably discharged veterans used to be exempt;
however, they were inadvertently left out of the list of
exempt groups when the entire California handgun law was
updated with the contingent enactment of SB 52 and AB 35,
signed into law in 2001.
"At that time, the term 'honorably retired' was inserted in
place of the old veterans exemption. However, there is no
such thing as a 'dishonorably' retired veteran, and
furthermore the word 'retired' does not apply to most
veterans. Assembly Bill 2609 will simply reinstate honorably
discharged veterans as one of the groups of people who are
exempt from obtaining the HSC because they have already
learned the safe handling of firearms far beyond the basic
level that the HSC requires of the average citizen.
"California's veterans have honorably served our country. Part
of that service is training in basic handgun safety. Much of
that training is in a large variety of various other weapons
and weapon systems, and safety is the cornerstone of all
weapons' use. The training and discipline that soldiers,
sailors, and airmen receive more than qualifies them to meet
the requirements of the HSC, and Assembly Bill 2609 restores
that understanding to its rightful place in the code."
2)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 HSC.
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 HSC 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
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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.
5)Argument in Support : According to the AMVETS, Department of
California , "This bill will exempt honorably discharged
members of the United States Armed Forces, National Guard or
Air National Guard from obtaining a HSC prior to purchasing a
handgun. Under current law, this exemption only applies to
honorably retired members of these services. Previously,
state law exempted veterans from obtaining a HSC. This
exemption was inadvertently chaptered out when the law was
changed. We believe that this exemption should be enacted
back into law."
6)Argument in Opposition : According to the California Chapters
of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence , "Existing state
law requires that individuals desiring to purchase a handgun
must first obtain a Handgun Safety Certificate. In order to
do so, the individual must pass a written test on handgun
safety developed by the DOJ. Subjects covered include, but
are not necessarily limited to:
a) "The laws applicable to carrying and handling firearms,
particularly handguns.
b) "The responsibilities of ownership of firearms,
particularly handguns.
c) "Current law as it relates to the private sale and
transfer of firearms.
d) "Current law as it relates to the permissible use of
lethal force.
e) "What constitutes safe firearm storage.
f) "Prevention strategies to address issues associated with
firearms in the home.
"AB 2609 would exempt honorably discharged veterans from the
HSC requirement. Additionally, this bill would require a
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person licensed to sell firearms to provide every handgun
purchaser who is determined to be exempt with a copy of the
instruction manual on handgun safety published by the DOJ."
1)Related Legislation :
a) AB 2152 (Nielsen) would have exempted honorably retired
members of the United States military from being required
to obtain a HSC in order to purchase a handgun. AB 2152
failed passage in this Committee.
b) AB 2115 (Knight) would have required the sheriff of a
county or the chief of a municipal police department to
issue a license to carry a concealed weapon if the person
seeking the license is a veteran without a showing of "good
cause" for the issuance of the license. AB 2115 failed
passage in this Committee.
2)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 HSC 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 HSC 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
components of the United States from having to obtain a HSC
in order to purchase a handgun. SB 1615 was not heard by
the Senate Public Safety Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
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Support
AMVETS, Department of California
California Association of Firearms Retailers
Gun Owners of California
National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc.
Opposition
California Chapters of the Brady Campaign
Legal Community Against Violence
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744