NEWTOWN, Conn., June 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The California
Senate Public Safety Committee will take up the issue of firearms
microstamping early tomorrow morning and the National Shooting Sports
Foundation (NSSF) -- the firearm industry's trade association -- is wasting
no time in warning all members of the California Senate that passage of the
legislation is a de facto ban of firearms. The microstamping bill (AB 1471)
would require manufacturers to micro laser engrave, in two separate
locations, the gun's make, model and serial number so, in theory, that
information would be imprinted on any cartridge casing fired in the gun.
Opposition to the legislation has intensified as firearm manufacturers have
indicated that passage of microstamping legislation would force them to
stop sales into the state because completely reconfiguring their
manufacturing and assembly process would be cost prohibitive.
"Compelling the use of this unreliable sole-sourced technology will
dramatically reduce the product selection available to law-abiding
consumers in California," said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF senior vice
president and general counsel. "Many manufacturers will choose to abandon
the California market rather than incur substantial costs associated with
complying with microstamping legislation, which would include purchasing
(at monopolistic prices) very expensive equipment and patented technology
and completely redesigning their manufacturing processes, plant and
equipment."
Further emboldening opposition to the microstamping bill is the recent
release of a study by researchers at the University of California at Davis
proving that the technology is "flawed" and "does not work well for all
guns and ammunition." The authors' concluded that, "At the current time it
is not recommended that a mandate for implementation of this technology in
all semiautomatic handguns in the state of California be made. Further
testing, analysis and evaluation is required."
The research demonstrated that results varied widely, "depending on the
weapon [and] ammunition used." The authors of the study note that "more
testing in a wider range of firearms is needed to determine the costs and
feasibility" of mandating microstamping.
"The UC Davis study confirms an earlier study on firearms
microstamping," said Keane, referring to an independent, peer-reviewed
study published last year in the professional scholarly journal for
forensic firearms examiners. That study proved that microstamping firearms
was unreliable and did not function as the patent holder claimed and could
be easily defeated in mere seconds using common household tools.
A similar bill (AB 352) failed last year over concerns about
reliability, cost and the fact that it is a patented sole-sourced
technology. The patent holder, New Hampshire-based ID Dynamics and its
owner Todd Lizotte, have been aggressively lobbying the legislature to pass
AB 1471, despite opposition from the firearms and ammunition industry and
law enforcement groups such as the Peace Officers Research Association of
California and the Orange County Sheriff.
"The U.C. Davis study and earlier peer-reviewed research only serve to
further validate our longstanding concerns that this technology is
unreliable, that it simply does not work as advertised and can and will be
easily defeated by criminals in seconds using common household tools,"
continued Keane. "Given this and the fact that passage of microstamping
legislation will lead to manufacturers refusing to sell firearms in the
state, we encourage the Senate Public Safety Committee to oppose this
dangerous bill."
For more information on the facts concerning microstamping please
visit:
http://www.nssf.org
SOURCE National Shooting Sports Foundation
