"We are very pleased to report that -- in a major victory for hunters and shooters -- SB 53 (De Leon) died on the Assembly Floor early this morning - falling 6 votes short of the 41 votes needed to pass.
The bill was first brought up for vote late yesterday afternoon, and again at 11:30 PM yesterday evening - both times the bill fell short of the necessary 41 vote majority. The bill was brought up for a vote for the final time this morning about 2:30 AM as literally the last order of business for the California State Assembly in their 2013/2014 Legislative Session. Again, the bill fell short with the roll being closed with the final vote count 35 "Aye"/35 "No".
As originally written, among other things, SB 53 would have:
1) Required virtually anyone wishing to purchase any ammunition -- including all hunting and target shooting loads -- to apply to the Department of Justice for a ammunition purchase permit, submit fingerprints, undergo a background check, and pay an application fee every two years;
2) Required the Attorney General to maintain a permanent file of the ammunition purchase permit information;
3) Banned internet and mail order purchase of ammunition in California;
4) Required anyone who loans, transfers or sells ammunition in California to meet overly strict requirements and obtain an ammunition vendor's license -- which would have resulted in the closure of countless ammunition outlets statewide, the eradication of numerous small businesses and the loss of thousands of jobs.
In a late, and unsuccessful effort to peel opposition from the hunting community off of the bill, the legislation was amended on August 22nd to:
1) Eliminate the need to obtain an ammunition purchase permit and undergo a background check. However, as amended, the bill would have still required the vendor to record the purchaser's name, driver's license, birth date, address and telephone number, as well as the brand, type and amount of ammunition purchased. The vendor would have been required to submit this information to the Department of Justice, where it would have had to stay on file for 5 years;
2) Provide an exemption to allow those with a hunting license to purchase ammunition via internet and mail order transaction.
To view a copy of the bill text, bill history or bill analyses, click SB 53
We really appreciate all of you who responded to our Action Alerts and Sample Letters on this bill, and who took the time to contact your Legislators asking them to vote "NO". We could not have defeated this bill without your support. Together we did make a difference."
The scary part is that with just six more votes in the Assembly, this bill would have passed!
LOL,
Not exactly!
