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[WEGC]

Long Gun Registration One Step Closer to Law in California
Your State Senator Needs to Hear Your Opposition to
This and Two Other Anti-Gun Bills Immediately!

Thursday, June 3, the California Assembly passed Assembly Bill 1810 and Assembly Bill 2223. Both bills now join Assembly Bill 1934 in the Senate.

AB1810 was passed by a 42-29 vote. In short, this bill would establish a registration system, similar to the one currently in place for handguns, for all newly-acquired long guns.  Under AB1810, the make, model and serial number of the firearm as well as the identifying information of the purchaser would be recorded and kept on file by the California Attorney General's office. 

If AB1810 were enacted, violent criminals would continue doing what they do now - obtain firearms through illegal means.  This bill would not decrease crime but will rather have disastrous effects on the already financially unstable Golden State.  AB1810 would impose additional burdens on California's taxpayers to maintain the registration system as well as on the state's licensed firearms dealers, small businesses who already deal with extensive business requirements. 

One simply needs to look at Canada, a nation with draconian firearms registration, to see the results - billions in cumulative administrative costs, annual cost overruns, no clear substantiation of public safety benefits, unjust prosecution, and a bureaucratic complexity that daunts those willing to comply.  Ironically, California is considering a new registration scheme as Canada is considering doing away with its system.

AB2223, passed by a vote of 46-28, would outlaw the use of lead shot when shooting or hunting in state-run wildlife management areas.  There is no scientific evidence justifying this proposed ban.  It is intended only to discourage hunting in California and that is why the Humane Society of the United States is in full support.

Simply put, AB1934 would outlaw the open carrying of a handgun for self-defense. This bill is a blatant attack on the self-defense rights of law-abiding Californians. It is a knee-jerk reaction by anti-gun legislators to punish citizens for engaging in the legal act of openly carrying an unloaded handgun.  In reality, the open carrying of firearms by law-abiding citizens is forced by California's unfair concealed carry law, which allows some citizens from some counties to receive a permit to carry, while their neighbors in the next county are denied that basic right for political, not public safety, reasons.

These bills are very serious threats to the rights of California's law-abiding gun owners and must be defeated. Please contact your State Senator NOW and urge them to oppose AB1810, AB2223, and AB1934.