Senate Approves Bill to 'Microstamp' Pistol Cartridges
Don Thompson - The Associated Press
The measure would require that, starting in 2010, every semiautomatic handgun sold in California would have to automatically "microstamp" each bullet cartridge in two locations as it is fired. Themicroscopic stamping would identify the gun's make, model and serial number.
The bill would not affect revolvers, rifles or shotguns, but supporters say semiautomatics are the weapon used in a majority of homicides committed with firearms. Unlike revolvers, semiautomatics eject a cartridge each time they are fired, scattering evidence at a crime scene.
"This is something that would be helpful in identifying the gun that was used in the commission of a crime," said Sen. Jack Scott, D-Altadena, during Thursday's debate. "It's just giving law enforcement one more tool."
The measure cleared the Senate 21-17, with no votes to spare.
Opponents said the technology and the bill itself are dangerously flawed.
Criminals could collect cartridges from firing ranges and strew them at crime scenes, implicating innocent citizens, said Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Temecula. The firing pin that stamps the cartridge will either have to be so soft that it could be easily erased, or so brittle that it could break, he said.
Sen. Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, argued that the bill will add "more cost and unnecessary harassment, quite frankly, of law-abiding citizens."
Similar legislation was introduced in Massachusetts and Rhode Island this year, according to the bill's author, Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles. A federal bill, modeled on California's, is being considered by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles.