BILL ANALYSIS �
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AJR 45|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AJR 45
Author: Feuer (D), et al.
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 50-25, 8/22/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Firearms: assault weapons
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution urges the President and Congress
of the United States to reauthorize the Federal Assault
Weapons Ban.
ANALYSIS : This resolution makes the following
legislative findings:
1. Assault weapons are a class of semiautomatic firearms
designed with military features that allow them to spray
large amounts of fire quickly and accurately. They are
distinguishable from standard sporting firearms by
features such as pistol grips and the ability to accept
a detachable magazine.
2. Assault weapons are frequently used in mass shootings,
including the 1993 101 California Street attack which
involved two TEC-9 semiautomatic handguns, and the
recent Aurora, Colorado shooting which involved an AR-15
style semiautomatic assault rifle with a 100-round
CONTINUED
AJR 45
Page
2
ammunition drum which would have been prohibited under
the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which expired in 2004,
if it had been in effect.
3. The Federal Assault Weapons Ban, passed in 1994 with the
strong leadership of Senator Dianne Feinstein, banned
certain models of semiautomatic assault weapons, as well
as high-capacity ammunition magazines that hold more
than 10 rounds.
4. Seven states, including California, have enacted laws
banning assault weapons. The District of Columbia and
five large urban cities in the United States have local
laws banning assault weapons. California and New Jersey
have the most comprehensive approaches to defining
assault weapons. Originally passed in 1989, California
law bans roughly 75 assault weapon types, models, and
series, by name, and provides a one-feature generic test
for rifles and pistols.
5. We must not allow another tragedy to occur before the
national assault weapons ban is reenacted. The assault
weapons ban meant fewer Americans were killed by assault
weapons. Studies show a significant decrease in the use
of these weapons in crimes committed during the period
of 1994 to 2004 when they were banned by the federal
law. During the first nine years of the ban, the use of
assault weapons in crime dropped by two-thirds. The
number of gun murders in the country dropped 7% during
the ban.
6. Since the expiration of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban,
450 violent crimes involving assault weapons were
committed and 750 individuals were shot by assault
weapons, 350 of whom were killed.
7. Even as the Supreme Court found an individual right to
gun ownership in the Second Amendment, the court
observed that "�l]ike most rights, the right secured by
the Second Amendment is not unlimited," it is "not a
right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever."
Furthermore, the court noted that there exists a
"historical tradition of prohibiting the carrying of
'dangerous and unusual weapons'".
CONTINUED
AJR 45
Page
3
8. The accessibility of assault weapons, in conjunction
with large-capacity ammunition magazines, enables
lethality on a devastating scale. Because our borders
are porous and only a small number of states regulate
assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, without a
comprehensive federal law even states that take steps to
protect their communities from these weapons are
vulnerable to criminals who use them.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 50-25, 8/22/12
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan,
Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo,
Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Furutani, Gatto, Gordon, Hall, Hayashi, Hill,
Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez,
Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly,
Beth Gaines, Garrick, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Harkey,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell,
Nestande, Nielsen, Olsen, Silva, Smyth, Valadao, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Galgiani, Gorell, Roger Hern�ndez,
Huber, Norby
RJG:k 8/28/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
**** END ****
CONTINUED