State Senate OKs Licenses On
Handguns
Bill heads to Assembly, where
passage in uncertain

Greg Lucas, Sacramento Bureau Chief

Tuesday, August 29, 2000

Sacramento — Senate Democrats jammed through
a bill yesterday requiring state licenses for would-be
handgun buyers, despite howls of outrage from
Republican legislators and a frosty reaction from
Gov. Gray Davis.

While the governor said through a spokesman that
he has taken no position on the bill, Davis has said
he does not want to sign any new gun control
measures this year.

Supporters of the bill, which still needs approval
from the Assembly, say licenses requiring handgun
safety training will save lives. Handgun Control, the
chief backer of the measure, estimates that 200,000
handguns are bought each year in California.

“If we do (licensing) for the operation of a motor
vehicle, we should do the same for an equally
dangerous piece of equipment,” said state Sen. Don
Perata, D-Oakland, who shepherded the bill
through the upper house.

Opponents, led by gun-owner groups such as the
National Rifle Association, contend that licensing is
the first step toward confiscating handguns.

“We let 16-year-olds drive a car, but we don’t let
16-year-olds have a gun,” said Sen. Ray Haynes of
Riverside, who led the rancorous GOP opposition
to the bill. “A car in the hands of a 16-year-old is a
heck of a lot more dangerous than a gun in the
hands of a 16-year-old.”

Approved on a mostly party-line vote of 22 to 15,
the bill — AB273 by Assemblyman Jack Scott,
D-Pasadena — now goes to the Assembly, where
its passage is less certain.

When the bill first sailed through the Assembly, all it
did was increase penalties for violence against
schoolchildren. It was gutted in the Senate and
replaced with the measure on gun-owner licensing.

Even if the licensing bill is passed by the Assembly,
it faces a chilly reception from the governor.

Davis has said he wants time for the gun measures
passed last year — a ban on so-called assault
weapons, a one-a-month limit on handgun
purchases and an end to the sale of “Saturday
Night Special” handguns — to take effect before
enacting more laws.

The height of the Senate debate found Haynes
railing against the bill, saying it would do nothing to
protect people.

“We cannot say we are actually making the
ownership of guns safer,” Haynes said, adding that
his wife, who wants a gun, would be in greater
danger because the bill makes it more difficult for
her to obtain a handgun.

“Lawn mowers are more dangerous than guns. If
you misuse your microwave, it’s more dangerous
than a gun. We cannot say we’re helping people
become safer by this law,” Haynes continued.

“Most domestic violence doesn’t involve a very
angry person picking up a microwave oven and
using it as an offensive weapon,” countered Sen.
Debra Bowen, D-Marina del Rey.

DETAILS OF THE BILL

If the Democratic governor does sign the bill,
licensing would begin July 1, 2002. It would work
this way:

Someone who wants to buy a handgun goes to the
police or sheriff’s department and provides a
thumbprint and proof of California residency. That
information is forwarded to the state Department of
Justice, which would issue the license.

The thumbprint is used to run a background check
on the applicant.

To get a handgun ownership license, a training
course must be taken. The would-be owner also
must pass a written test on firearm laws and the
responsibilities of gun ownership.

The gun buyer then must show an instructor
approved by the state that he knows how to shoot a
gun and handle it safely.

The price: No more than $12 for the thumbprint.
No more than $25 for the license. The bill is silent
on the fees charged that would be charged by the
training courses.

A license would last five years or until the person’s
driver’s license expires, whichever comes sooner. A
person could buy additional handguns during those
five years but would undergo a new background
check with each purchase.

Felons and persons under 21 years of age are not
eligible for a license, which can be suspended if a
person does not notify the state within 10 days of a
change of name or address.

Gun owners would have to take a written test to
renew the licenses. There would be a $100 fine for
any violation of the handgun safety license law.

CURRENT REQUIREMENTS

The state already requires persons to take either a
test, watch a gun safety video or complete a
state-administered training course before buying a
handgun. A buyer also undergoes a background
check and must wait 10 days before taking
possession of the handgun.

Scott’s bill is far more comprehensive.

Scott, a candidate for the Senate, is one of the
Assembly’s strongest gun control advocates. His
27-year- old son, Adam, was killed in 1993 at a
party by someone demonstrating how to use a
shotgun that he thought was not loaded.

BILLS AWAITING DAVIS’ PEN

The Legislature adjourns for the year at midnight
Thursday. Between now and then, hundreds of
pieces of legislation will be sent to Gov. Gray Davis,
who will decide whether to veto the measures or
sign them into law. Here are some of the bills
lawmakers have sent to Davis:

–Marriage facts: AB1920 by Assemblywoman
Hannah- Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, would
require that all people applying for a marriage
license be given a fact sheet about how marriage
affects various aspects of their lives. These include
property rights, payment of debts, pension rights,
spousal and child support and laws relating to
domestic violence.

–Northridge claims: SB1899 by Sen. John Burton,
D- S.F., would extend the statute of limitations on
claims filed stemming from the Northridge
earthquake, despite settlements reached between
insurance companies and former Insurance
Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush.

–SFO: SB1562 by Sen. John Burton, D-San
Francisco, would speed construction of two new
runways at San Francisco International Airport by
shrinking the time the airport must study how to
make up for the environmental damage the runways
would create. The bill includes a requirement that
the airport consider alternatives other than just filling
more than 1,000 acres of the bay to build the
runways.

–E-mail privacy: SB1822 by Sen. Debra Bowen,
D-Redondo Beach, would make it illegal for
employers to read employees’ e-mail or track
Internet sites visited without first informing the
employee that it is company policy to do so.
Employees would have to sign or electronically
verify that they have received, read and understood
the company’s monitoring policy. A similar bill was
vetoed by Davis last year.

–Binding arbitration: SB402 by Sen. John Burton,
D-San Francisco, would require the use of binding
arbitration to resolve wage disputes involving police
officers and firefighters. The bill was sponsored by
the Professional Firefighters Association but is
opposed by cities and counties.

–Rent increases: SB1745 by Sen. John Burton,
D-San Francisco, would require landlords to
provide 60 days notice for a rent increase that is
greater than 10 percent. It would also require a
30-day notice for rent increases that are 10 percent
or less.

–Cancer plate: AB193 by Sen. Richard Polanco,
D-Los Angeles, would authorize the Department of
Motor Vehicles to issue a special breast cancer
treatment license plate and to allocate a portion of
the funds collected to help fund breast cancer
treatments for underinsured or uninsured persons.

–Live animal markets: AB2479 by
Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl, D-Los Angeles,
would impose regulations for operation of live
animal markets. In live animal markets, where
animals are sold for food, the bill would prohibit
animals being dismembered or skinned while still
alive or kept in such a manner as to cause death or
injury. The first violation would receive a written
warning, the second violation a fine that would be
waived if the owner completed a course relating to
live animal markets.

E-mail Greg Lucas at [email protected]