Cars: Potentially Dangerous, Registration Required; And Guns?

In the 30 minutes it takes you to peruse the newspaper this morning, two Americans will be killed and another 20 injured by gunfire.

The shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., and the day-care center in Granada Hills highlight this carnage. People across our state and throughout our country are calling for action to reduce these and other tragic incidents.

The state Legislature and the governor listened to the people and passed landmark measures last year to reduce firearms violence. My bill, which was signed into law, requires every firearm in California to be sold with a trigger lock. Both the sale and manufacture of assault weapons are now banned in this state. No individual can purchase more than one handgun per month.

All of these measures are helpful, yet more needs to be done. More Californians continue to die from firearms than from automobile accidents.

To reduce this toll even further, we need to treat guns like we treat the automobile. Cars are a potentially dangerous instrument, so we register all cars and require drivers to be licensed. Few have ever questioned the logic of this. We should similarly require all handguns to be registered and handgun owners to be licensed.

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With the recent concern about Y2K disasters, sales of firearms increased. Observing this surge in sales, several gun dealers reported that many purchasers were unfamiliar with current laws and that some had no idea how to properly shoot or load the guns purchased. This is a potentially dangerous situation and one that licensing would solve.

California law now requires handgun buyers to take a simple written safety test. However, many are exempt, including all licensed hunters and anyone who served in the military, even though most hunters don’t use handguns and most military personnel are not trained about laws governing handguns.

First-time drivers must take a driving test to demonstrate that they can drive safely. Yet current law does not include any hands-on safety testing for handgun buyers. Why shouldn’t handgun purchasers be required to demonstrate that they can safely own and operate a firearm? Gun stores administer a written test, which creates a clear conflict of interest. Would we allow a used-car dealer to administer a driver’s license exam?

I am carrying legislation with Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) that would require would-be handgun buyers to obtain a $25, five-year license to purchase handguns by attending a certified firearms safety course and passing the following safety tests: a safety demonstration test (for example, clearing a jammed gun), a basic firearm demonstration test (target shooting), a written test on handgun laws and gun safety rules.

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In our current system, handgun purchases are recorded only once, at the initial purchase. This makes it too simple for someone to purchase a handgun and then sell it to a young person or convicted felon who cannot legally buy a gun. In fact, a 1997 UC Davis study found that fewer than half of guns used in a commission of a crime could be traced to the state’s records of initial dealer sales.

Gun tracing is an extremely valuable crime-fighting tool. When police can’t trace a gun back to its owner, it is often impossible to convict criminals for the murders, robberies and other crimes they have committed. Because 80% of gun murders are committed with handguns, annual registration of handguns would help police reduce violent crime. Our bill would require all handguns to be registered every year at the minor cost of $15 to $20 a year per person (regardless of how many handguns were owned).

The other benefit of handgun registration is background checks. Under current law, an individual undergoes a background check only when he or she first purchases a handgun. The measure would allow the Department of Justice to conduct yearly background checks to make sure the handgun owner was not prohibited from owning firearms because of a recent felony, violent offense conviction or mental health facility admission. Handgun registration would make it easier for district attorneys to identify and prosecute those who illegally possessed handguns.

Gun violence is taking a high toll in terms of shattered lives, excessive medical costs and permanently disabled people. Licensing handgun buyers and registering all handguns are prudent steps that we should take to reduce this senseless carnage.