The California Association of Firearms Retailers (CAFR) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) are urging Gov. Schwarzenegger (R) to veto three “ill-conceived and burdensome anti-gun bills that would hurt independent businesses and law-abiding firearms owners in the state,” according to a release by the NSSF.
The Governor will have until October 11 to veto the bills: ammunition registration (AB 962), burdensome and unnecessary regulations that duplicate existing requirements under federal law governing the sale of firearms (SB 41) and prohibitions on the lawful sale of firearms and ammunition at the Cow Palace exhibition center (SB 585).
In a time of great economic uncertainty in the Golden State, it is estimated that the three bills would cost California at least $2.92 million annually in lost sales taxes, $629,000 in increased operating costs for state agencies and $180,000 in lost Cow Palace revenue. Lost retail sales in California are estimated at $35.7 million.
The CAFR and NSSF have made defeating all three bills a top legislative priority. Efforts to defeat the legislation include issuing multiple legislative alerts to retailers, sportsmen and gun-owners in California and running a 60 – second radio spot up and down the coast urging opposition to ammunition registration.
“The three anti-gun bills currently on the governor’s desk will do nothing to curb crime and only serve to hurt small, independent businesses that are already struggling in a poor economy,” said NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane. “Governor Schwarzenegger should demonstrate strong leadership and veto these ill-considered and burdensome bills.”
More information on the bills:
AB 962 — Would require that firearms dealers and other vendors of ammunition keep a registry of all buyers of handgun ammunition. The bill would also ban all mail order and Internet sales of handgun ammunition and reloading components.
SB 41— Would further burden firearms retailers by requiring additional paperwork and documentation on the date of delivery of all firearms to a buyer. This bill equally affects consumers of firearms as the increased dealer costs would be passed along to the purchaser.
The bill also requires dealers to sign and to obtain the signature of the buyer or other transferee of a handgun on the Department of Justice Dealers Record of Sale (DROS) form indicating that the handgun has been delivered and the date upon which the delivery was made. It would further require dealers to date and sign a form stating that the buyer of a rifle or shotgun had taken possession of the gun.
SB 585 — Would prohibit the lawful sale of firearms and ammunition at the Cow Palace exhibition facility near San Francisco, located in Agricultural District 1-A, and would make a violation of that prohibition a crime. Its purpose is to ban gun shows at the Cow Palace and to set a precedent for the banning of all gun shows at other state-owned facilities where many sportsmen buy firearms and ammunition.
In California all firearms bought and sold at gun shows must be transferred through a federally licensed firearms retailer who is required under federal and state law to run a background check on the prospective buyer.
