AB 962 Updates

AB 962 and Store Employees

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:57:01 GMT

AB 962 puts several restrictions on retailers who wish to sell ammunition. One of these items deals with the employees that are allowed to have any dealings with the store's ammunition.

12061.(a)(1)

A vendor shall not permit any employee who the vendor knows or reasonably should know is a person described in Section 12021 or 12021.1 of this code or Section 8100 or 8103 of the Welfare and Institutions Code to handle, sell, or deliver handgun ammunition in the course and scope of his or her employment.

Section 12021 describes a convicted felon who is unable to purchase firearms. Section 12021.1 is a list of violent crimes which are felonies. Section 8100 and 8103 describe people who have been " . . . adjudicated by a court of any state to be a danger to others as a result of a mental disorder or mental illness . . . "

Imagine that you're a large retailer like Walmart that no doubt employs a few people who are convicted felons or have been institutionalized. Is it worth the hassle of continuing to sell ammunition and then trying somehow to make sure that the guy in the stockroom with a felony conviction never touches a pallet of ammunition? I think the answer is most likely no.

AB1663, New Legislation to Repeal AB962

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 03:00:21 GMT

Today the CalNRA released to following statement:

NEW LEGISLATION INTRODUCED TO REPEAL AB962!

Immediately following Governor Schwarzenegger's signing of the Ammunition Sales Registration Bill, AB962, NRA announced our effort to repeal this misguided and un-necessary legislation by amending NRA sponsored AB373 into a "Repeal bill."

This effort has been welcomed by overwhelming support throughout the firearms community within the state and the California Rifle and Pistol Association immediately added their total support to this effort. Gun stores, ranges, hunting & shooting clubs, collectors, hunters, and those who value our freedoms, have all joined this effort to repeal AB962.

Because of this overwhelming support from firearms owners throughout the state, it has been decided to use a different legislative vehicle in the effort to Repeal AB962. The reason is because the time for AB373 to be heard in the legislative committee was nearing the end and many people still had not had a chance to sign the "Letter of Support of the Repeal of AB962" yet. Assemblyman Hagman has introduced AB1663, which does not require a hearing until later this year. This gives everyone a chance to sign the "Letter."

This will not be an easy fight, but it is possible to win if we all stick together and act in an organized manner. There is no good reason not to be part of the team.

Read the NRA-ILA News Release regarding Governor Schwarzenegger's counter-productive signing of AB962 at http://www.nraila.org/News/Read/NewsReleases.aspx?ID=12998.

Read the entire release here.

San Diego County NRA Member's Council Meetings

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:58:03 GMT

If you are located in San Diego County and would like to have an in depth discussion with a NRA representative regarding Assembly Bill 962 (or anything else for that matter) please consider attending a member's council meeting. In the San Diego area the meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00pm at "W.C's Chuck Wagon Restaurant and Saloon" located at 8861 N. Magnolia Ave in Santee.

The NRA Members' Council of Greater San Diego's website can be found at the following URL: www.sdnra.com

SFGate Editorial Mentioning AB 962

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:15:26 GMT

The San Francisco Chronicle has a rundown of several of the more "important" new laws which were passed in 2009. In the "good" column you'll find legalized office gambling, laws which limit the amount of water in honey and, most importantly of all, the passage of Harvey Milk Day. A single sentence is devoted to AB 962.

AB962 will require gun sellers to record sales of ammunition and require the identification of the purchaser, closing a dangerous loophole.

I'm not really sure what the loophole was that was closed but it seems that when guns are involved, loopholes abound in the minds of many in this state. You can read and comment on the article here.

AB 962 in The Union Democrat

admin — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:25:41 GMT

Ashley Archiblad has written a piece in The Union Democrat which discusses the rise in firearm and ammunition sales in 2009. It features quotes from store owners regarding the current and future effects of AB 962 on their businesses. Here's an excerpt:

AB 962 will take effect in February 2011.

“It’s more work for us, which will drive up the costs for customers,” said Bill Adkins of Bear Mountain Guns and Archery Shop in San Andreas.

The ammunition limitations imposed by AB 962 have created some challenges for gun shop owners to keep enough ammunition in stock. Buyers descended on stores trying to get as much as they could before supplies ran out.

“Ammunition has been a tough thing,” Reynolds said. “We’re one itty bitty gun shop and people are buying hoards of ammo. All of those people shopping all of those stores, and ammunition makers can’t fill that pipeline.”

Youngman had to restrict the amount of ammunition she would sell to any given customer to two boxes. When she heard about AB 962 and saw the increase in gun sales, she knew people would be looking for ammunition and started stockpiling herself.

“That’s how we outlasted Wal-Mart and Big 5,” she said.

You can read the rest of the article here.

Is California AB 962 a precursor to 'Ammunition Accountability' laws?

admin — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 19:36:04 GMT

Kurt Hofmann has an interesting article up on Examiner.com discussing his view that AB 962 is a lead in to nation-wide ammunition accountability laws. Here's an excerpt:

California's restrictive new ammunition sales law, AB 962, is bad enough in its own right. Peaceable, responsible gun owners will now face additional difficulties in procuring ammunition, ammunition vendors will take on considerable additional costs, difficulties, and risks of legal culpability, and California's vast, authoritarian, nanny-state bureaucracy will grow still larger.

But all that has been discussed elsewhere already. My new concern is that this law will come to be seen as "a good first step"--and remember, to the forcible citizen disarmament lobby, every new restriction is "a good first step."

Read the article in it's entirety here: Kurt Hofmann Article

Ammunition Sales to Those Under 21

admin — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 16:13:37 GMT

There is a language in AB 962 which I believe will kill all sales of ammunition to those under 21 years old. It reads as follows:

12346. (a)

(1) Any person, corporation, or dealer who does any of the following shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not to exceed six months, or by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both the imprisonment and fine:

(A) Sells any ammunition or reloaded ammunition to a person under 18 years of age.

(B) Sells any ammunition or reloaded ammunition designed and intended for use in a handgun to a person under 21 years of age. As used in this subparagraph, "ammunition" means handgun ammunition as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 12323. Where ammunition or reloaded ammunition may be used in both a rifle and a handgun, it may be sold to a person who is at least 18 years of age, but less than 21 years of age, if the vendor reasonably believes that the ammunition is being acquired for use in a rifle and not a handgun.

(C) Supplies, delivers, or gives possession of any ammunition to any minor who he or she knows, or using reasonable care should know, is prohibited from possessing that ammunition at that time pursuant to Section 12101.

The part that will be frightening to places like Walmart and Big5 is in italics. This language puts a burden on the vendor to "reasonably believe" that the person purchasing a box of .22 ammunition is going to be using that ammunition in a long-gun and not a handgun in order for the sale to be legal. If the purchaser of of that ammunition is found by authorities to be using ammunition he purchased in a pistol then that could create a problem for the retailer.

These are the types of "problems" that retailers in this state are looking to avoid. Firearm and ammunition retailers are already under tremendous scrutiny by the state and, in many cases, the local municipal and county governments in which they reside. Language like this will, at the very least, force ammunition retailers to require younger customers to sign some sort of waver saying that the customer intends to only use the rifle ammunition they are purchasing in a long-gun. This waver is another piece of paper that that the retailer will have to maintain along with all the other documentation that AB 962 requires. It is also another potential point of failure for retailers who already have a hard time training minimum-wage staff to do all the book keeping tasks firearm and ammunition sales require.

I also believe that this type of language in AB 962 will cause an increase in retailer's insurance premiums as by offering ammunition for sale they are greatly increasing their exposure to punitive measures by the state. How long will it be before insurance actuaries throw AB 962 into the equation when forecasting future losses? I don't think it will take them long. A couple of huge payouts by insurance companies in this state for AB 962 related sales may make getting insurance for your business extremely expensive.

Like many I think the goal of AB 962 is to make non-LEO ammunition sales in California so difficult that law-abiding residents simply stop buying it. If retailers are forced to stop selling ammunition or increase it's prices to astronomical levels to offset their expenses, and Internet sales are no longer an option the government will have accomplished it's goal.

AB 926 Countdown for Your Website

admin — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:52:21 GMT

You can now add an AB 962 countdown display to your website or blog. The counter is displayed using Microsoft's Silverlight plugin and looks like this:

To add the counter to a website simply cut and paste the below code anywhere you would like the countdown timer to appear:

California NRA Petition Reminder

admin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:35:36 GMT

If you haven't signed the NRA's on-line petition to repeal AB 962 yet please take a moment to do so. Signing the petition will also add you to the NRA's notification database which will let them contact you to let you know when to contact your local representatives regarding AB 962 and/or AB 373 (the bill to repeal AB 962).

The on-line petition can be found here:

http://www.calnra.com/petition/

Trinity Journal Piece on AB 962

admin — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 14:50:19 GMT

Owen J. Brown has written an Op. Ed. piece in The Trinity Journal regarding California AB 962. Mr. Brown writes:

Only in America do the bad guys have more rights than the good guys. All these gun laws and ammo laws don't do or mean a thing to the criminals — they will still be criminals no matter what. The law-abiding citizen foots the bill, the government makes the money from all the fees, from the honest people, and the bad guys keep robbing, raping, shooting and killing. I read this saying the other day: "I love my country — it's the government I'm afraid of!"

The true intent behind this legislation is painfully obvious to everyone . . . including those who passed it.

LAPD Gun Unit Award

admin — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 14:40:15 GMT

Here's a video of Charlie Beck (appointed Chief of LAPD on 11/17/2009) lauding the LAPD Gun Unit on December 14th, 2009. The LAPD and their former Chief were very helpful in getting AB962 passed using some of same ridiculous "statistics" that Charlie is seen regurgitating here to a very receptive Brady Campaign audience. If you live in LA and own firearms you can let Mr. Beck know how you feel about his comments by contacting him here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SotYYpPDgw

Mayors Against Illegal Guns

admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:43:23 GMT

On a day when a prominent member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns was found guilty on corruption charges I thought it would be interesting to post some of this organization's "research" regarding the effectiveness of ammunition logging. What follows is an excerpt from a January 2008 document on the group's website entitled The Abell Report.

Federal law prohibits the sale of ammunition to convicted felons, anyone subject to a restraining order and anyone under the age of 21. Maryland law also prohibits the sale of handgun ammunition to anyone under the age of 21.

However, studies have shown that dealers around the country do not always enforce such laws. Recognizing that, police in Baltimore County and Baltimore City have both recently focused on ammunition purchases.

Baltimore County police have reached voluntary agreements with some ammunition dealers to maintain a log that records the names and addresses of all people purchasing ammunition.

In Baltimore City, police are taking advantage of a city code provision that requires all ammunition dealers to maintain such a log – a provision added to the city health code in 2003 and intended to stop minors from purchasing ammunition. Police say they are using ammunition log entries to develop important leads into illegal gun possession. In September and October alone, Baltimore police seized more than 50 illegal guns through leads developed by scrutinizing ammunition logs.

Research suggests that such leads are likely to continue to provide information about illegal guns. A 2006 study in Los Angeles found that 2.6 percent of the people purchasing ammunition had a prior felony conviction or were otherwise prohibited from possessing ammunition. During a two-month period studied, researchers concluded, convicted felons or others prohibited from purchasing ammunition nonetheless bought 10,050 rounds of ammunition in Los Angeles.

The entire document can be found here.

Here are MAIG's core principals:

Punish - to the maximum extent of the law - criminals who possess, use, and traffic in illegal guns.
Target and hold accountable irresponsible gun dealers who break the law by knowingly selling guns to straw purchasers.
Oppose all federal efforts to restrict cities' right to access, use, and share trace data that is so essential to effective enforcement, or to interfere with the ability of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms to combat illegal gun trafficking.
Work to develop and use technologies that aid in the detection and tracing of illegal guns.
Support all local state and federal legislation that targets illegal guns; coordinate legislative, enforcement, and litigation strategies; and share information and best practices.
Invite other cities to join us in this new national effort.

The first few goals could be called rational and actually already met. The rest are unsettling and familiar to anyone who lives in California. AB 962 certainly qualifies as an organizational goal. If your local mayor is a member of MAIG be sure to let them know how you feel about their support of an organization whose sole purpose is to deprive you of your second amendment rights.

MAIG Members: http://mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/html/members/members.shtml

Senator Robert Dutton on AB 962

admin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:36:09 GMT

In this video State Senator Bob Dutton makes some good points about AB 962 prior to it's passage. If you live in his district feel free to thank him for his attempt to stop AB 962 and urge him to support future efforts to repeal this bill.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmCs85u64C0

San Diego Rifle and Revolver Association on AB 962

admin — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 11:34:30 GMT

The San Diego Rifle and Revolver Association have published their opinion the effects of AB 962 and have endorsed the NRA and CRPA plan to try to use AB 373 to repeal it. Here's an excerpt:

Outrage! That's the reaction that CRPA and NRA members in California are understandably having to the news that the Governor signed AB 962 into law on October 11, 2009. AB 962 is slated to go into effect February 1, 2011. But we are not going to just stand by and wait. CRPA and NRA have already started the legislative wheels turning to halt AB 962 before the 2011 implementation date.

CRPA and NRA members want this bill reversed, and that is what we are going to do! Assemblyman Curt Hagman (R- Diamond Bar) has stepped up and agreed to carry legislation on our members' behalf. Earlier this year Assemblyman Hagman introduced AB 373 which proposed to streamline the sale of handguns. He has now agreed to amend AB 373 to call for the repeal of AB 962. NRA and CRPA will be cosponsoring AB 373, and we will need your help immediately in this effort. The bill is currently being amended and will be introduced in January 2010. Things need to start happening quickly since hearings on AB 373 will begin in January when the Legislature reconvenes. Everyone needs to get involved. Gun owners, shooters, hunters, vendors, collectors, affiliate clubs and anyone who values their Second Amendment right and freedom all need to work together to reverse AB 962. NRA and CRPA will be planning many activities in the near future to attack AB 962. Watch for CRPA and NRA alerts asking you to contact your legislators and involve yourself in future volunteer activities.

Read the entire article here.

Sheriff Lee Baca on AB 962

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:17:22 GMT

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca weighs in on all the supposed benefits of AB 962 in an op-ed he authored in the LA Daily News. Here are some excerpts:

This measure requires vendors of handgun ammunition to keep a log of information on handgun ammunition sales, store ammunition in a safe and secure manner and require the face-to-face transfer of ammunition sales - a small price to pay to help keep bullets out of the hands of children, gang members, parolees and even people who previously served time in prison for murder.

While the gun lobby has argued that AB 962 is similar to the ineffective federal law enacted in the 1960s, they fail to acknowledge the federal law didn't exist in the computer age when information is easily shared; that the federal law did not give local law enforcement access to the data; and that the federal law allowed any type of ID, such as a gym card, as proof of identification.

Of course, AB 962's record keeping requirement doesn't take advantage of any "computer age" magic either. Paper records sitting in a vault is also how they did things in the 1960's.

Read the entire article here.