Unfazed by Colorado recalls, California lawmakers press on with gun-control bills

By Josh Richman and Mike Rosenberg

Staff Writers

Colorado Senate President John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, concedes defeat in his legislative recall race in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013. Morse and Sen. Angela Giron, of Pueblo, who voted for new firearms restrictions in the state, faced the first legislative recalls in state history. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

SACRAMENTO -- A day after furious Coloradans recalled two state senators who voted for new gun laws, California lawmakers pressed ahead with their own agenda Wednesday aimed at giving the Golden State the strictest gun control in the country.

Colorado's recall elections and California's rush to pass gun bills in the final week of its legislative session quickly reignited the national debate over balancing public safety with constitutional rights.

The Colorado votes sent a Rocky Mountain chill down the spines of lawmakers in other battleground states, but those in bright blue California seemed unfazed.

"I don't see anybody switching teams here," said Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, chairman of the Assembly Public Safety Committee.

Assemblywoman Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, seemed resigned to the Democratic-controlled Legislature passing a slew of new gun laws, but held out hope that Gov. Jerry Brown will shoot many of them down with his veto pen. "I just pray to God that Jerry Brown is the savior of the Second Amendment in this state," she said.

Among the most controversial bills, Senate Bill374 by state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento -- which would ban all semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines -- passed the Assembly on a 44-31 vote late Tuesday. Then the Assembly voted 41-34 on Wednesday to approve SB567 by state Sen. Hannah Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, which would expand the definition of an illegal shotgun.

Both now await a vote on amendments from the state Senate, which has already passed the bills, before going to Brown's desk.

The Assembly also voted 43-30 Wednesday to agree to Senate amendments to AB48 by Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, which would ban conversion kits used to turn legal ammunition magazines into illegal high-capacity magazines.

The only gun-control bill that ran into trouble was SB396 by state Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley. It would ban possession of all high-capacity ammunition magazines, even those that had been grandfathered in under the 1999 update to California's assault-weapons law. Four votes in, the Assembly fell short, but Hancock and Assemblyman Anthony Rendon, D-South Gate, may call for another vote Thursday.

The Assembly also Wednesday voted 41-27 to pass SB55 by state Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Vacaville, which would expand the list of convicts who can't legally own guns to include those with multiple drug or alcohol convictions, active participants in street gangs and others. The state Senate needs to approve Assembly amendments before the bill goes to Brown's desk.

Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, rhetorically asked how many times gun-rights advocates have insisted that it's not guns that kill people, but other people. "You just can't have it both ways -- this bill goes to the heart of the matter," she said.

Already on the governor's desk are measures that would expand the state's safety-certificate requirement from handguns to long guns as well; crack down on "straw purchasers" who buy guns on behalf of those legally prohibited from doing so; tighten exemptions to the law prohibiting the purchase of handguns not tested and deemed safe by the state; and ban use of lead ammunition in hunting. Brown has until Oct. 13 to sign or veto this year's bills.

Bill Whalen, a Hoover Institution research fellow and longtime GOP media consultant and speechwriter, said that unlike the purple nature of many pockets in Colorado, most California districts are either deeply blue -- like in the Bay Area -- or very red. That means most Democrats don't have to worry about a Republican taking their job just for supporting gun-control measures.

"Show me a Democrat that is coming from hunting territory," he said. "You don't have too many members caught in the crossfire."

And because Democrats so strongly dominate the Legislature, they can afford to allow peers from the few "swing" districts to vote against the gun measures if they think it will protect their jobs, Whalen said.

Shikha Hamilton, a Foster City attorney and California campaign manger for the Brady Campaign, said a recall effort against legislators who support new gun laws measures would be fruitless.

"I think in California the populace would really react strongly and fight back," Hamilton said, adding that decades of research show California's past gun-control measures have reduced violence. "I hope they know that their constituencies want these laws in effect."

But Chuck Michel, attorney and spokesman for the California Rifle and Pistol Association, suggested that California lawmakers would be wise to take heed of what happened in Colorado.

"That recall result should send a message to all politicians, not just in California, that they should be very careful about misinterpreting the desires of their constituents, particularly their constituents who believe in the Second Amendment," he said.

Josh Richman covers politics. Contact him at 510-208-6428. Follow him at Twitter.com/josh_richman. Read the Political Blotter at IBAbuzz.com/politics.

Source: http://www.dailydemocrat.com/ci_24074638/unfazed-by-colorado-recalls-california-lawmakers-press-gun?source=rss_viewed

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