Calif. Senate Approves Ambitious Gun Bills

FRESNO, Calif. (KMJ) — 11 gun-related bills have passed the California State Senate.

Among them, is SB 1235, which calls for increasing regulations on ammunition sales, including mandatory background checks.

Senate Bill 1446, written by Democrat Loni Hancock, would ban magazines holding more than 10 rounds.

Hancock, citing the deadly San Bernardino shooting, said Thursday, “If the shooters had a 10-round magazine, 4 of them would still be alive.”

SB 894 by Democratic Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson would require that stolen guns be reported within 5 days.

Jackson says, “This isn’t like someone took a hammer or a screwdriver, and you have 30 of them — this is a firearm.”

But, opponents, including Republican Senator Andy Vidak, ask, “How many criminals do we feel are actually going to fill out this form, and turn it in?

Senate Bill 1407 would mandate background checks for self-assembled firearms, and require serial numbers, while SB 1006 by Democrat Lois Wolk, would establish a gun violence research center at UC Davis.

In urging her colleagues to support the measure, Wolk compared gun research to automobile research, and the laws that it inspired.

“Better research, I believe, could yield similar reductions [in gun violence].”