This week (June 1, 2013), the State of California continued to prove, boast almost, that they are out of touch with the rest of the nation as the California Senate continued to tighten gun control laws, which are already some of the toughest in the nation. Under the new SB 53 bill, a person buying ammunition would be required to submit an additional background check plus pay a $50 fee for process. Makes sense I guess if you wish to drive law-abiding citizens to stockpile large caches of ammunition – except the bill also puts steps into place ensuring that anyone purchasing more than 3,000 rounds would require notification to local law enforcement authorities.
Additionally, any weapon with a detachable magazine would be illegal for sale and purchase and current owners will be required to register their existing weapons with the state immediately. Clips with a capacity higher than 10 rounds would become illegal. And as if to slap citizens in the face and prove that this is all no joke, the bill introduces one sane allowance which would “extend a ban on gun ownership for anyone who conveys a serious threat of violence to a licensed psychotherapist.”
The bill passed 22-14 with some Democrats stepping across the aisle to join Republicans in opposition. One opponent of the bill proclaimed:
“We are criminalizing legal, historic behavior in the state of California and putting onerous burdens and regulations and requirements on law-abiding citizens.”
As a side note, senators also voted to strip nonprofits such as the Boy Scouts of America of their tax-exempt status for discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation (adults included).