Clueless in California

In California, they've already passed so many draconian restrictions on private gun ownership that it's apparently getting difficult for them to think of any new ones. So, when a career violent felon (and apparent child rapist) murders four cops, which he was able to do despite the most restrictive state gun laws in the country, and when the legislators still want to diagnose the problem as one of not enough gun laws, they have to get creative. Luckily, California lawmakers are up to the challenge of creatively infringing on that which shall not be infringed.

In response to the fatal shootings of four Oakland police officers over the weekend, two Bay Area politicians today announced plans to introduce legislation that would create a system for regulating and tracking assault weapon magazines in California.

The announcement by state Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, and Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, D-Oakland, comes four days after a wanted parolee gunned down four Oakland officers, two allegedly with an AK-47.

The proposed legislation would restrict the use and possession of large-capacity ammunition magazines, defined as ammunition-feeding devices that hold more than 10 rounds. In the past, such devices could not be tracked since there was no technology to do so, Hancock said.

Keep in mind, we're not talking about banning "large capacity" magazines--that's already done in California. The problem here is that the non-reduced capacity magazine prohibition, like most prohibitions of highly desired items, does not work, so now the idea is to create another law, to help the first law work.

The "thinking" here is to require that the (already banned) magazines be stamped with serial numbers, so the magazines can be tracked.

Assault weapons have been banned in California since 1999, and owners who possessed them before the ban are required to register their weapons. But large-capacity magazines are not required to be registered — because it was previously impossible to stamp serial numbers on them. Technology is now available to imprint serials on the magazines and enable law enforcement to track them through a registration system, Hancock said.

Good luck with that one, guys.

California has me beginning to think that Illinois, where private handgun sales will remain legal (Ha!), has some redeeming features.