EWOK, I think you are right. I studied the bill at length last night. Here's my new opinion. I have e-mailed A lawyer who publishes a book on CA gun laws each year, and asked for his analysis.
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Hi-cap possession might not be banned (if you already legally own them) according to my further interpretation here of SB23. My reading of the analysis of the bill by the Senate, and of the actual amendments of the bill to PC12020 (rather than just the intro to the bill), indicate that POSSESSION of Hi- cap magazines ALREADY owned legally will NOT be banned. Earlier versions of the bill DID say "keeps or offer for sale".
Although the INTRO to the official Bill SB23 cites that:
“ This bill would make it a misdemeanor or a felony, beginning January 1, 2000, for any person, except as provided, to manufacture,import into the state, KEEP or offer for sale, give, or lend any large-capacity magazine. A large-capacity magazine would be defined to mean any ammunition feeding device with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds. By expanding the definition of, and increasing the penalty for, a crime, this bill imposes a state-mandated local program.”...
THIS is not the actual legal amendment to 12020 itself, just the intro to the bill.
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The actual Senate analysis AND the text of the bill regarding the amendment of PC12020 do NOT indicate that KEEPING a hi-cap magazine will be a crime. Here is the text of the actual amendment to 12020, from page 10 of the Acrobat version of the bill, as downloaded from:
www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=sb_23&sess=CUR&house=B
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In the text of the bill, it says: “SEC. 3. Section 12020 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
12020. (a) Any person in this state who does any of the following is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or in the state prison:...
...(2) Commencing January 1, 2000, manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into the state, KEEPS FOR SALE, or offers or exposes for sale, or who gives, or lends, any large-capacity magazine.
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Below is the Senate’s analysis of the bill, which agrees with the above paragraph. It also apparently DOES NOT prohibit the mere possession (KEEPING) of hi-caps... only KEEPING FOR SALE of them.
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE SB 23|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 445-6614 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
Bill No: SB 23
Author: Perata (D), et al
Amended: 7/12/99
Vote: 21
SUBJECT : Firearms: assault weapons
SOURCE : Handgun Control
DIGEST : This bill:
1.Provides that it is a crime, punishable by an alternative misdemeanor/ felony ("wobbler"), commencing January 1,2000, for any person to manufacture or cause to be manufactured, import into the state, KEEP FOR SALE, or offer to expose for sale, or give, or lend any large-capacity magazine (i.e., any ammunition feeding device with the capacity to accept more than ten rounds), as specified.
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This points to a contradiction between the bill’s opening paragraphs, which are a summary of the bill, and the actual amendments made to the law further into the text of the bill, and the analysis of the bill by the Senate. By saying KEEPS FOR SALE, rather than KEEPS OR OFFERS FOR SALE, it leads me to believe that legally owned hi-caps bought before the law takes effect can still be POSSESSED.
Any thoughts?
[This message has been edited by Covert Mission (edited July 16, 1999).]