State Lawmakers Debate Proposed Gun Control Bills
SACRAMENTO (CBS SF) -- The State Senate Committee on Public Safety reviewed five bills on guns Tuesday, with one proposed law focusing on limiting the purchase of long guns to one firearm per month per person.
Authors of AB 1674 said they researched mass shootings that happened over the last 30 years and think that their bill would reduce illegal gun trafficking.
Those opposed spoke out about how this would affect hunters and gun collectors.
Democratic Assemblyman Miguel Santiago of Los Angeles summed up the reason he wrote his bill with one sentence.
"Everyone is a law abiding citizen until they're not," said Santiago.
Citing the recent mass shooting in Orlando, santiago said by limiting the purchase of long guns, he believes it will prevent people from stockpiling them or from building them up to fully-functioning assault weapons that could then be trafficked.
Republican State Senator Jeff Stone of Temecula had specific concerns about how the bill would affect hunters
"And as we know, California has some of the most comprehensive gun laws probably in the country," said Stone. "And the opposition is opining -- and I tend to agree with them -- that this is an unreasonable restriction on our second amendment rights."
Stone argued it is very common for hunters to own different kinds of guns for various recreational needs.
"Some people like to go to basketball games on the weekends," explained Stone. "Some like to go to baseball games on the weekend. Some people hunt for their recreation, so I'm concerned about that."
Santiago countered that the bill would not impact sportsmen who could prepare accordingly.
"On the hunter, look, I would just say plan ahead, number one. That's the best way to do it," said Santiago. "And on top of that, it doesn't eliminate borrowing restrictions, which would still be in place, nonetheless."
Santiago continued to argue that he believes his bill has a number of exemptions that address a lot of concerns.
Members of the NRA said that restricting the sale of arms won't reduce gun violence and criminals will always find a way to get firearms.
The bill is expected to pass.
Two members were out of the room when the vote was cast, but as of now it has a 3 to 2 vote in favor of moving forward.
If approved, the bill would head to the senate appropriations committee.
Santiago's Chief of Staff tells KPIX 5 they are trying to expedite measures to the governor's office by June 30th.
Another of the bills was focused on making it more difficult to get unfinished gun parts. The bill aimed specifically at the receiver, the part of the gun that holds the trigger and the safety lock.
"These receivers have no other purpose other than to be used to make a gun and for this reason should be registered," said Democratic Assemblyman Mike Gipson of Carson.
At Franklin Armory in Morgan Hill, chief engineer Ryan Fellows is worried the bill isn't specific enough.
"The concern I see is that there is ambiguity with where you draw the line between what is an almost finished receiver and what is a kind of finished receiver and what is a not finished receiver and what's a material that's eventually going to become a receiver," explained Fellows.
The chief engineer said the wording "identifiable as a component of a functional weapon" is open to wide interpretation.
"There's definitely concern of where you draw the line? Even if you don't immediately consider this piece right there on the table as a firearm," he said as he indicated a partially finished receiver. "What if sitting next to it is some plans?"
But supporters of the bill say partially finished parts are readily available on the Internet and can fall into the wrong hands too easily.
"We are talking about prefabricated products whose sole purpose is to assist in the assembly of a weapon that kills," said Ari Freilich of Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
The bill won support of the public safety committee.