California Democratic lawmakers unveil gun control legislation

Source: Sacramento Bee

Flanked by police chiefs, big-city mayors and gun control advocates, a group of California Democratic legislators announced a series of proposals Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said would "once again make California's gun laws the very toughest in the nation."

Thursday's announcement was the latest gun control push from state lawmakers in the wake of December's mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school. The massacre, which claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School, has sparked calls for action across the country. Lawmakers in New York recently enacted measures making its laws the nation's strictest, a title previously held by California.

"We need to lead the way," Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said. "New York has stepped up and stepped forward. California needs to answer the call."


The package of seven bills outlined at a Capitol press conference today includes measures to make it illegal to possess high-capacity magazines, ban the manufacture, sale, transfer and importation of rifles with detachable magazines and regulate ammunition purchases and require additional safety training for people who purchase new handguns. Lawmakers also called for increased funding and focus on enforcing existing laws, including ensuring that guns get out of the hands of people prohibited from possessing fire arms.



Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/02/california-legislators-unveil-new-gun-control-push.html