California Gun Owners
Stop Latest Licensing Scheme!
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"...AB 273 also contained a provision which would
have treated law-abiding gun owners just like registered sex
offenders..." |
Assemblyman Rod Wright (D) and
Wayne LaPierre at the 2000
Annual CRPA Banquet
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Thanks to a massive grassroots effort by
California NRA members,
the California Rifle & Pistol Association, and
Gun Owners of California, AB 273, which sought to severely restrict, license,
and tax prospective handgun buyers, met its defeat late Wednesday
night. Anti-gun Assemblyman Jack Scott (D-Altadena), a longtime
thorn in the side of gun owners and the bill’s chief sponsor,
worked fervently until the eleventh hour to gather enough votes
from members of his own party in an effort to gain the bill’s
passage. However, in the end, the combination of tens of
thousands of phone calls from gun owners, opposition by members
of California’s law enforcement community, and a final
parliamentary maneuver orchestrated by pro-gun Assemblyman Rod
Wright (D-Los Angeles) created an insurmountable roadblock that
ensured AB 273's demise.
AB 273 was one of the most blatant attempts to dismantle the
Second Amendment that California’s gun owners had ever faced. The
measure would have required all handgun buyers to
- be
fingerprinted,
- pass a shooting proficiency test, and then
- register all handguns at the point of purchase before being
licensed by the California Department of Justice to simply
possess a handgun.
AB 273 also contained a provision which would
have treated law-abiding gun owners just like registered sex
offenders, requiring them to notify law enforcement whenever they
moved.
Although this was a big defeat for Assemblyman Scott and the
anti-gun forces in the California General Assembly, Scott vows
that he will pursue his licensing scheme if he is successful in
his bid for the State Senate, and if the chamber maintains its
anti-gun tilt after the November Elections.
CA NRA Staff Report from the Capitol!
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