California state lawmakers face a fusillade of gun-control bills that could move California far beyond what any other state has enacted — including proposals to ban a wide range of semi-automatic rifles and impose strict new regulations on ammunition, reports the San Jose Mercury News. With their agenda stalled in Congress, gun control advocates hope California can break the inertia and reignite the national debate that erupted after a gunman killed 20 children and six adults in Newtown, Conn., in December.
A Senate committee on Monday will hear bills already passed by the Assembly that would create a state database of all ammunition purchases, make it a crime to have a gun that’s not locked up when not being carried, and extend the time for which someone is banned from owning firearms after making a violent threat. The next day, an Assembly committee will hear bills already passed by the state Senate that would ban all semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines, make it a crime to leave a gun unlocked when you’re out of the house and require those who own high-capacity magazines to get rid of them.