Lawmakers push for tighter gun controls in California
 

LOS ANGELES — California lawmakers, seizing on new calls for gun controls following the massacre of 26 people at a Connecticut elementary school, rolled out proposals Tuesday to close loopholes in the state's assault weapons ban and restrict ammunition sales.

The moves quickly put California at the forefront of what was expected to be a new wave of proposed firearm restrictions at the state and federal levels in the wake of the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

State Sen. Leland Yee introduced a bill that would prohibit gun owners from fitting semi-automatic weapons with devices, known as "bullet buttons" or "mag magnets," that allow them to be easily reloaded with multiple rounds of ammunition.

The San Francisco Democrat's measure would also prohibit add-on kits that allow high-capacity magazines. He said he was drafting legislation that would require yearly background checks for gun ownership and toughen safety requirements.

His action came as state Sen. Kevin De Leon, a Democrat from Los Angeles, said he would introduce a bill this week requiring ammunition buyers in the nation's most populous state to obtain a permit issued by the U.S. Department of Justice.

"For too long, too much ground has been ceded in the debate about reasonable gun and ammunition control," De Leon said in a statement. "In honor of the Sandy Hook Elementary School victims and thousands who have preceded them, we must not capitulate any longer."

A gunman carrying a semi-automatic rifle and two handguns opened fire Friday at the Connecticut school, killing 20 young students and six adults in a crime that stunned Americans and renewed calls for stricter gun controls.

De Leon said the one-year $50 permit, which would require a background check by the Justice Department, aimed to combat the easy accessibility of ammunition.

California gun laws are already among the toughest in the nation, topping a list compiled by the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The state has banned most assault weapons, requires sales be made by a licensed dealer, including at gun shows, and imposes a 10-day waiting period among other regulations.

DEMOCRATS SEE AN OPENING

But Yee told Reuters in an interview that he and other Democrats believe more can be done.

"We're looking at yearly registration, background checks of individuals who own guns. We're looking at saying to gun owners, ‘You've got to keep these guns locked up when you are not using them or not cleaning them, and that you need to put trigger locks on all of these weapons,'" he said.

Democrats won a two-thirds majority in both houses of California's legislature in November, giving them even greater clout in a body that they have long dominated. Gov. Jerry Brown is also a Democrat.

Yee acknowledged that some Democrats in the state legislature were "sensitive" to the National Rifle Association but said that with a Democratic supermajority, chances for more gun control legislation have improved.

The NRA said Tuesday it wanted to contribute meaningfully to prevent another massacre like the Connecticut shootings, suggesting a sharp change in tone for the largest U.S. gun-rights group.

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Can they even get any tighter? I bet that's what it is. December 21st 2012. Americans invade Kalifornia and link up with Americans already behind enemy lines.

Can it get any worse when Dems from Stan luvs Fransisco and Lost Angels work together on something? We already know they can't stand the Constitution there and it's apparently their goal to regulate the poor souls there into hating it too.

Jrs, quick grab Bellson and apply for a travel visa to the USA. I'm sure you could just find work and stay here. I promise INS won't send you back there.

Yeah all you Kommiefornia guys, hurry up and get over to the good old US of A, before they build a wall, just like Berlin back in the day

I wish I could escape.

I have a 3/4 million dollar anchor, er, house. Anybody want to take that bath?

i hope the new law dosnt pass.Imagine having to pay the state more money just to buy ammo,thats crazy

there bullet button ban was just defeated a few months ago . what needs to happne is there needs to be laws restrivcitning the same bs form being propsed ove ran over again.

id like to know what there thinking?????/

other than possable encouringing people to better store there arms an the need to make mentaly ill get help im not going to be happy. I can live with the end of face to face sales but im not for it being outlawed. i personaly stoped selling face to face unless i really know the person .

It wasn't really defeated. Rather it was pulled from the committee because on review it was determined it wouldn't pass legal muster.