Brown mum about stance on revised gun ammo bill

California tightly restricts gun ownership, banning purchases by ex-felons, domestic abusers, certain mental patients and others, but places virtually no limits on sales of ammunition - which, in the words of the state's police chiefs, is easier to buy than a pack of cigarettes.

Whether that changes is apparently up to one person, Gov. Jerry Brown.

Legislation that would limit the sale of bullets was nearing final passage in September when the bill's author delayed an Assembly floor vote to await the outcome of negotiations with Brown, who had vetoed an earlier measure.

"I think the governor shares the same perspective," state Sen. Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, said. "He wants to make public safety paramount. We have deep concerns that no one knows who buys or who sells ammunition in California."

Brown's spokesman, Evan Westrup, declined to say whether the governor is willing to regulate ammunition sales.

"It would be premature to discuss (the subject) at this time," Westrup said. He said Brown "will continue to approach the issue in a thoughtful and measured way."

De León's legislation, SB53, would establish a statewide permit system and database for ammunition sales and would subject those sales to most of the same restrictions that now apply to gun sales.

A central issue

Firearms regulation has been a central issue in the current legislative session. Brown has signed some major bills, including an environmentalist-backed ban on lead bullets, but vetoed several others opposed by the National Rifle Association, including one that would have extended California's assault-weapons ban to cover all semiautomatic rifles with detachable magazines. He said the ban was too broad and was unnecessary in a state that already has the nation's strictest gun laws.

As an assemblyman, de León carried legislation, signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2009, that would restrict the sales of cartridges designed "principally" for handguns and require purchases to be in person rather than by mail order or online.

But a Fresno County judge blocked the law from taking effect as scheduled in February 2011, and last week the state's Fifth District Court of Appeal upheld the judge's ruling that de León's measure was unconstitutionally vague. Because most ammunition can be used in long guns as well as handguns, neither buyers nor sellers would know when they were at risk of prosecution, the court said in a 2-1 ruling.

After the Fresno judge's decision, de León sponsored a measure in 2011 that specified 16 types of ammunition that were used primarily in handguns and would be subject to state regulation. Brown vetoed it, saying it was premature because of the ongoing court case.

Proposed restrictions

The current bill would eliminate the argument over vagueness by applying the same standards to all ammunition sales. Prospective purchasers would have to pass a background check with the state attorney general's office and would then obtain a permit they could use in purchases at California retailers. Ammunition could be bought by mail or on the Internet but would have to be picked up in person from a licensed dealer.

"Ammunition is the oxygen that fuels the violence on our streets," de León said. "We don't know who buys it or who sells it - someone who's mentally ill, a former felon, a gangbanger, a cartel member can walk into any bait and tackle store, any sporting goods store in California and purchase as much ammunition as they like, no questions asked."

SB53 cleared the state Senate and reached the Assembly floor, with support from gun-control groups and the California Police Chiefs Association. In opposition, gun sellers said the bill would hurt business and cost jobs, and the NRA said the measure would not deter criminals, who would buy their ammunition on the black market or through straw purchasers.

The measure "imposes drastic and unjustified restrictions on law-abiding gun owners while doing nothing to reduce violent crime," the NRA said in a letter to lawmakers.