In Blow to Davis, Panel OKs Registering Handguns

Ignoring an appeal from the governor for a moratorium on new gun control measures, a state Assembly committee on Tuesday backed legislation to license handgun buyers and register all such weapons in California.

The proposal is intended to make it easier for police to track stolen handguns used in crimes, and ensure that only people who know how to handle the guns safely can legally purchase them.

“I’m not interested in jamming the governor. But I am interested in continuing the public debate,” said the bill’s author, Assemblyman Kevin Shelley (D-San Francisco).

Shelley made his comments after the Assembly Public Safety Committee approved the bill on a 5-2 vote, with only Democrats in support. Shelley indicated that the committee’s approval is the first time a legislative panel has embraced such a sweeping proposal to license the purchasers of handguns and set up a mail registration system for owners of existing handguns.

Similar legislation by Shelley stalled in the Assembly three years ago before deadly shootings at high schools in Colorado and elsewhere prompted a new wave of restrictions on firearms in California and other states. Only Hawaii, New York, Massachusetts and Illinois require some form of licensing or registration.

Shelley’s proposal would direct buyers of handguns to apply for a license, valid for four years. The buyer would be subject to a background check and a test to demonstrate safe handling of the weapon. The cost to the consumer has yet to be determined.

In addition, all handguns--even that old World War II pistol in the attic--would need to be registered.

Tuesday’s action came after a tense 90-minute hearing that included an emotional appeal for support from an Orange County couple whose son was shot to death and dire predictions from critics that the bill will create a chaotic new bureaucracy, equivalent to a DMV for guns.

Among supporters of the bill were an assistant police chief from San Francisco and a Laguna Hills couple, Charles L. and Mary Leigh Blek, whose son Matthew was shot in the 1990s in New York during a robbery by teenagers using a handgun.

“Matthew’s dog, Hoss, had to be registered with our county, including proof of shots. Now, registering dogs is considered just ordinary civic responsibility, why not for guns?” the Bleks asked in a statement given to the committee. As he sat in the hearing room in the Capitol, Charles Blek wore a button that said “Republicans for Responsible Gun Policy.”

Opponents included the National Rifle Assn. and the Gun Owners of California. They predicted an administrative nightmare if the state attempts to register millions of guns, especially old weapons that may not have identifiable serial numbers.

“If the objective is to have accurate information in the computer, this doesn’t work,” said Stephen C. Helsley, a lobbyist for the NRA.

Assemblyman Dick Dickerson (R-Redding), a former county sheriff, said the Shelley measure would not curb gun violence, as maintained by backers of the bill, but would impinge on the constitutional right of law-abiding citizens to bear arms.

Dickerson described it as “an effort to stand the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution up against the wall for a firing squad.”

Shelley’s bill next goes to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Shelley acknowledged he will need to fine tune the proposal, AB 1607, as it advances and as Democrats figure out their best strategy for getting it signed into law. At least two other licensing and registration proposals are expected to be debated in the current legislative session.

All the proposals will face a number of obstacles. They must draw support from moderate Democrats from Central Valley districts where there is an aversion to gun control. And supporters must overcome reservations voiced by Gov. Gray Davis, who last year signed a variety of gun control bills but now wants a timeout on new firearms curbs.

Currently, no permit or license is required to buy or own a firearm in California, although weapons dealers are required to keep a written record of sales and send them to the state Department of Justice. The department estimates that at least 2.6 million handguns were sold legally in California between 1990 and 1998.