BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2460
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Date of Hearing: April 17, 2012
Counsel: Gabriel Caswell
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 2460 (Dickinson) - As Amended: April 9, 2012
SUMMARY : Specifies that the Department of Justice (DOJ), police
departments, sheriffs' officials, marshals' offices, California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, California Highway
Patrol, district attorneys' offices, and military or naval
forces of the State of California may not sell or otherwise
transfer the ownership of an unsafe handgun to any entity or
person that is not otherwise exempted from possession of an
unsafe handgun.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that any person in California who manufactures or
causes to be manufactured, imports into the state for sale,
keeps for sale, offers or exposes for sale, gives, or lends
any unsafe handgun shall be punished by imprisonment in a
county jail not exceeding one year. �Penal Code Section
32000(a).]
a) Specifies that this section shall not apply to any of
the following �Penal Code Section 32000(b)]:
i) The manufacture in California, or importation into
this state, of any prototype pistol, revolver, or other
firearm capable of being concealed upon the person when
the manufacture or importation is for the sole purpose of
allowing an independent laboratory certified by DOJ to
conduct an independent test to determine whether that
pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being
concealed upon the person is prohibited, inclusive, and,
if not, allowing the department to add the firearm to the
roster of pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable
of being concealed upon the person that may be sold in
this.
ii) The importation or lending of a pistol, revolver, or
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other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person
by employees or authorized agents of entities determining
whether the weapon is prohibited by this section.
iii) Firearms listed as curios or relics, as defined in
federal law.
iv) The sale or purchase of any pistol, revolver, or
other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person,
if the pistol, revolver, or other firearm is sold to, or
purchased by, the Department of Justice, any police
department, any sheriff's official, any marshal's office,
the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency, the California
Highway Patrol, any district attorney's office, or the
military or naval forces of this state or of the United
States for use in the discharge of their official duties.
Nor shall anything in this section prohibit the sale to,
or purchase by, sworn members of these agencies of any
pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being
concealed upon the person.
2)Specifies that violations of the unsafe handgun provisions are
cumulative with respect to each handgun and shall not be
construed as restricting the application of any other law.
�Penal Code Section 32000(c).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "The purpose of
this bill is to close the loophole in law that allows the
private party transfer of 'unsafe handguns' to individuals not
eligible to buy them. AB 2460 will keep 'unsafe handguns' out
of the hands of people who don't have a legitimate law
enforcement purpose. This bill will improve public safety by
closing the gap in current law that has allowed the
unrestricted practice of selling unsafe handguns through
private party transfers to continue without recourse."
2)Safe Handgun Law : SB 15 (Polanco), Chapter 248, Statutes of
1999, made it a misdemeanor for any person in California to
manufacture, import for sale, offer for sale, give, or lend
any unsafe handgun, as defined, with certain specific
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exceptions. SB 15 defined an "unsafe handgun" as follows:
(a) does not have a requisite safety device, (b) does not meet
specified firing tests, and (c) does not meet a specified drop
safety test.
a) Required Safety Device : The Safe Handgun Law requires a
revolver to have a safety device that, either automatically
in the case of a double-action firing mechanism or by
manual operation in the case of a single-action firing
mechanism, causes the hammer to retract to a point where
the firing pin does not rest upon the primer of the
cartridge or in the case of a pistol have a positive
manually operated safety device.
b) Firing Test : In order to meet the "firing requirements"
under the Safe Handgun Law, the manufacturer must submit
three unaltered handguns, of the make and model for which
certification is sought, to an independent laboratory
certified by the Attorney General. The laboratory shall
fire 600 rounds from each gun under certain conditions. A
handgun shall pass the test if each of the three test guns
fires the first 20 rounds without a malfunction, and fires
the full 600 rounds without more than six malfunctions and
without any crack or breakage of an operating part of the
handgun that increases the risk of injury to the user.
"Malfunction" is defined as a failure to properly feed,
fire or eject a round; failure of a pistol to accept or
reject a manufacturer-approved magazine; or failure of a
pistol's slide to remain open after a manufacturer approved
magazine has been expended.
c) Drop Test : The Safe Handgun Law provides that at the
conclusion of the firing test, the same three
manufacturer's handguns must undergo and pass a "drop
safety requirement" test. The three handguns are dropped a
specified number of times, in specified ways, with a primed
case (no powder or projectile) inserted into the handgun,
and the primer is examined for indentations after each
drop. The handgun passes the test if each of the three
test guns does not fire the primer.
3)Argument in Support : According to the California Chapters of
the Brady Campaign , "the Brady Campaign was instrumental in
the enactment of the Safe Handgun Law, SB 15, in 1999. Under
this law, a person may not manufacture, import, sell, fire or
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loan a handgun that is not listed on the roster of safe
handguns maintained by the California Department of Justice.
For a model to be listed on the roster of handguns certified
for sale in California, the handgun model must pass firing,
safety, and drop tests and possess certain safety features,
such as a chamber load indicator. The law generally applies
to all handguns that are not classified as curios and relics
under federal regulation.
"Most law enforcement personnel are exempt from the
requirements of SB 15. Nothing in the law, however, specifies
that an exempt person is prohibited from transferring an
unsafe handgun to a non-exempt person. This bill would make
it illegal to sell, or otherwise transfer, an unsafe handgun
to a non-exempt person.
"The need for this bill became clear when it recently came to
light that some exempt persons were engaging in the sale of
unsafe handguns to persons who were not exempt as a profit
making venture. This practice circumvents the Safe Handgun
Law and puts unsafe handguns in the hands of the general
public."
4)Prior Legislation : SB 15 (Polanco), Chapter 248, Statutes of
1999, made it a misdemeanor for any person in California to
manufacture, import for sale, offer for sale, give, or lend
any unsafe handgun, as defined, with certain specific
exceptions.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Chapters of the Brady Campaign
Legal Community Against Violence
Opposition
California Rifle and Pistol Association
National Rifle Association of America
Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
AB 2460
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