http://www.washtimes.com/national/default-2001122225211.htm
Weaponry goes into hiding under new California law
By Thomas D. Elias
SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
LOS ANGELES - Hundreds of California gun owners are taking their
assault-style weapons out of state or putting them in hiding to avoid a
registration deadline that took effect Jan 1.
At the same time, sales of several hundred handgun models have been halted
under terms of another new law requiring they be tested and certified by
state officials before being put on sale.
As of Dec. 29, the last weekday before the registration deadline, just
10,000 gun owners had signed state forms and paid the $20 fee, reported the
California Department of Justice.
"No one knows exactly how many of these types of guns are in private hands,
but we estimate the number is far higher than what has been registered,"
said state Attorney General Bill Lockyer, a Democrat.
The new law expands a 1989 ban on sales of new military-type weapons. That
law listed guns by brand name and model, requiring owners of existing
weapons to register them. But loopholes allowed continued sales of slightly
altered models and imitations.
The new law defines outlawed weapons by feature, banning new sales of
semiautomatic centerfire rifles and rifles with pistol grips protruding
beneath the weapon, thumbhole stocks, folding stocks, flash suppressors and
fixed magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds.
Semiautomatic pistols also are included in the ban if they have threaded
barrels capable of accepting a flash suppressor, silencers or the capacity
to accept a detachable magazine outside the pistol grip.
Owners of such guns can keep them but risk a fine of $500 and jail time if
the weapons are not registered. Supporters of registration say it is needed
to enforce the sales ban. Sales can be regulated, said legislators who
backed the new law, only if authorities know which guns were in the state
before the ban began.
But gun owners fear the sales ban and registration law are the first steps
in an effort to disarm them. The National Rifle Association and the
California Sporting Goods Association said they would sue to have the
registration deadline extended indefinitely because owners didn't get
enough notice of the new rules. Registration regulations were published on
Dec. 5, less than a month before the Dec. 31 postmark deadline for sending
registration cards to the state.
Meanwhile, hundreds of gun owners reacted by moving their guns to nearby
states without registration laws or sales bans on assault weapons. Many are
sending weapons to relatives or friends in other states for storage. Others
are paying to keep them closer by, where they still can be used for
recreational shooting.
More than 400 California gun buffs so far have placed weapons at the Front
Sight Firearms Training Institute outside Las Vegas, where a $500 fee
covers storage and weapons training and maintenance of a gun for up to two
years. Other centers in Reno and Carson City, Nev., and several small
Arizona cities just across the Colorado River from California reportedly
are about to begin accepting guns.
"I sent one gun to my cousin in Texas," said Leo Pangross, a building
contractor in the Los Angeles suburb of Corona. "I can't take it out and
shoot it, but at least I still have it and I can go get it if I feel like I
need it."
State officials maintain they passed the law because no one needs such
weapons. "The only use they have is to kill a large number of people in a
short time," said Nathan Barankin, a top aide to Mr. Lockyer. "No one's
using them to protect themselves or their family or their home. These are
not the weapons of choice for that purpose. We're not trying to disarm the
public; we're just trying to have a safer society."
The goal of safety-testing pistols is the same. As of Jan. 1, only 202 of
more than 900 known handgun models had been certified for sale in
California, where the last week of 2000 featured a run on many uncertified
models, according to gun stores.
"This law infringes on people's right to bear arms," said Barry Bauer,
owner of a Fresno sporting goods shop. "The people of California can't buy
the same handguns people in the rest of the nation can."
Like other store owners, Mr. Bauer now must sell off his stock of
uncertified handguns to out-of-state customers or dealers in other states.
Legislators said the new law is designed to prevent guns from exploding in
users' hands, as some cheaply made "Saturday night specials" have done.
Three samples of each model now must be tested in two ways:
* Each is dropped six times from the height of one meter. If one gun fires
on impact, the model fails the test.
* Each pistol is fired 600 times, with any model failing if it jams or
misfires during the first 20 rounds or if it malfunctions more than six
times during the 600 rounds.
State testing costs manufacturers $2,000 per gun.
- Joe Brower
PEOPLE, IT'S TIME TO STAND UP AND BE COUNTED --
JOIN THE TYRANNY RESPONSE TEAM TODAY!
CALIFORNIA: EMAIL 103606.2563@compuserve.com or CALL 760.591.4475
CA TRT Website: http://www.trt-ca.org
FLORIDA TRT Website: http://www.angelfire.com/fl4/trteam/
TRT NATIONAL Website: http://www.trteam.com
JB's RKBA Cafe: http://home.earthlink.net/~joebrower/
Weaponry goes into hiding under new California law
By Thomas D. Elias
SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
LOS ANGELES - Hundreds of California gun owners are taking their
assault-style weapons out of state or putting them in hiding to avoid a
registration deadline that took effect Jan 1.
At the same time, sales of several hundred handgun models have been halted
under terms of another new law requiring they be tested and certified by
state officials before being put on sale.
As of Dec. 29, the last weekday before the registration deadline, just
10,000 gun owners had signed state forms and paid the $20 fee, reported the
California Department of Justice.
"No one knows exactly how many of these types of guns are in private hands,
but we estimate the number is far higher than what has been registered,"
said state Attorney General Bill Lockyer, a Democrat.
The new law expands a 1989 ban on sales of new military-type weapons. That
law listed guns by brand name and model, requiring owners of existing
weapons to register them. But loopholes allowed continued sales of slightly
altered models and imitations.
The new law defines outlawed weapons by feature, banning new sales of
semiautomatic centerfire rifles and rifles with pistol grips protruding
beneath the weapon, thumbhole stocks, folding stocks, flash suppressors and
fixed magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds.
Semiautomatic pistols also are included in the ban if they have threaded
barrels capable of accepting a flash suppressor, silencers or the capacity
to accept a detachable magazine outside the pistol grip.
Owners of such guns can keep them but risk a fine of $500 and jail time if
the weapons are not registered. Supporters of registration say it is needed
to enforce the sales ban. Sales can be regulated, said legislators who
backed the new law, only if authorities know which guns were in the state
before the ban began.
But gun owners fear the sales ban and registration law are the first steps
in an effort to disarm them. The National Rifle Association and the
California Sporting Goods Association said they would sue to have the
registration deadline extended indefinitely because owners didn't get
enough notice of the new rules. Registration regulations were published on
Dec. 5, less than a month before the Dec. 31 postmark deadline for sending
registration cards to the state.
Meanwhile, hundreds of gun owners reacted by moving their guns to nearby
states without registration laws or sales bans on assault weapons. Many are
sending weapons to relatives or friends in other states for storage. Others
are paying to keep them closer by, where they still can be used for
recreational shooting.
More than 400 California gun buffs so far have placed weapons at the Front
Sight Firearms Training Institute outside Las Vegas, where a $500 fee
covers storage and weapons training and maintenance of a gun for up to two
years. Other centers in Reno and Carson City, Nev., and several small
Arizona cities just across the Colorado River from California reportedly
are about to begin accepting guns.
"I sent one gun to my cousin in Texas," said Leo Pangross, a building
contractor in the Los Angeles suburb of Corona. "I can't take it out and
shoot it, but at least I still have it and I can go get it if I feel like I
need it."
State officials maintain they passed the law because no one needs such
weapons. "The only use they have is to kill a large number of people in a
short time," said Nathan Barankin, a top aide to Mr. Lockyer. "No one's
using them to protect themselves or their family or their home. These are
not the weapons of choice for that purpose. We're not trying to disarm the
public; we're just trying to have a safer society."
The goal of safety-testing pistols is the same. As of Jan. 1, only 202 of
more than 900 known handgun models had been certified for sale in
California, where the last week of 2000 featured a run on many uncertified
models, according to gun stores.
"This law infringes on people's right to bear arms," said Barry Bauer,
owner of a Fresno sporting goods shop. "The people of California can't buy
the same handguns people in the rest of the nation can."
Like other store owners, Mr. Bauer now must sell off his stock of
uncertified handguns to out-of-state customers or dealers in other states.
Legislators said the new law is designed to prevent guns from exploding in
users' hands, as some cheaply made "Saturday night specials" have done.
Three samples of each model now must be tested in two ways:
* Each is dropped six times from the height of one meter. If one gun fires
on impact, the model fails the test.
* Each pistol is fired 600 times, with any model failing if it jams or
misfires during the first 20 rounds or if it malfunctions more than six
times during the 600 rounds.
State testing costs manufacturers $2,000 per gun.
- Joe Brower
PEOPLE, IT'S TIME TO STAND UP AND BE COUNTED --
JOIN THE TYRANNY RESPONSE TEAM TODAY!
CALIFORNIA: EMAIL 103606.2563@compuserve.com or CALL 760.591.4475
CA TRT Website: http://www.trt-ca.org
FLORIDA TRT Website: http://www.angelfire.com/fl4/trteam/
TRT NATIONAL Website: http://www.trteam.com
JB's RKBA Cafe: http://home.earthlink.net/~joebrower/