A Gunshy Governor

An important bill requiring handgun buyers to prove they can safely handle such weapons would be poised to pass the state Legislature were it not for one thing: Gov. Gray Davis declines to say whether he would sign it. The governor’s silence could well shoot down the measure.

Davis must secretly hope that the legislation will be defeated, sparing him the tough choice between provoking the National Rifle Assn., which spends freely to defeat candidates it dislikes, and disappointing the California majority that supports the reasonable requirements in the bill.

As Davis dips into his $30-million reelection war chest to pay for radio and television ads trumpeting his actions to secure California’s energy supply, his refusal to stand up for the handgun bill--SB 52, by Sen. Jack Scott--amounts to gubernatorial cowardice.

The legislation is based on the simple premise that potential handgun owners should have to demonstrate that they are able to handle the purchased weapons safely before they take them home.

Current law requires prospective buyers to take a written gun safety test or watch a video. Gun dealers, who administer the test and screen the video, have a vested interest in seeing that their customers pass. Scott (D-Altadena) wants gun buyers to have to demonstrate they can load, unload and safely fire their weapons. The bill requires the test to be administered by an instructor certified by the state Department of Justice.

The gun lobby hates the comparison of guns with cars, perhaps because the analogy is so clear. We don’t let new drivers take the wheel by themselves immediately after they pass a written test on motor vehicle law. We require them to demonstrate, with an examiner in the car, that they can safely maneuver on the road.

Scott’s bill would also impose tougher rules to ensure that gun dealers comply with state law barring nonresidents and felons from buying handguns. The measure would require that a prospective buyer provide proof of residency, such as a current utility bill in his or her name. In addition, it would require that a thumbprint be left to prove identity.

A similar bill, AB 35, from Assemblyman Kevin Shelley (D-San Francisco), has passed that house and is pending in the Senate. Scott’s SB 52 has passed the Senate and is now in the Assembly. Both bills will come up this week. All that’s needed to persuade a few timid Democrats is a signal from the governor that he wouldn’t exercise his veto power and hang them out to dry before the NRA.

Davis signed four key gun safety measures in 1999, including an assault weapons ban and a safety lock requirement. But since then, it’s been duck and cover as far as gun bills are concerned. These evasions are not the actions of a leader; these are the machinations of a man worried about only one thing--reelection next year.