To: firearms-alert@shell.portal.com Subject: CA: CRPA WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Date: Thu, 31 Aug 1995 13:31:17 PDT From: John Walker 8/29/95 Here is the weekly legislative update from the California Rifle and Pistol Assn. (CRPA). This is a transcript from a broadcast made on the "It's not about Guns,. . .It's about Freedom" radio show on KIEV 870 A.M. (Glendale, CA). Broadcasted each Tuesday night from 8:30 P.M. to 10:30 P.M. Typing errors are my own. ***********Beginning of Article******* Good evening, this is Gerald Upholt, Manager of Governmental Affairs for the California Rifle and Pistol Association with a "Legislative Watch" report on activities in the state capitol. *** Background Check and Waiting Period Reforms A legislative package of bills that would reform the existing provisions of law dealing with criminal and mental history background checks and the 15 day waiting period for firearms buyers is now only a few steps away from the Governor's desk. The bills, SB 670 and SB 671, authored by Republican Senator John Lewis of Orange, would limit the Dealers Record of Sale (DROS) fee paid by firearms buyers to its current level of $14.00. They would also set in place utilization of state of the art technology to allow transmission of background check information data by electronic means, rather than just through the use of mail service as is now provided in the state penal code. In some cases, it takes a week or more for background check data to reach the Department of Justice by mail. The use of electronic transmission can reduce this time down to just a few seconds. In recognition of this fact, Senator Lewis' bills would reduce the waiting period for all firearms from 15 days to 10 days, effective July 1st, 1996. Finally, these bills would revise the background check liability provisions of current law relative to rifles and shotguns to also include handguns. Existing law exempts the Department of Justice from liability if there is an error or other deficiency in its background check for a rifle or shotgun buyer, but there is strict liability if the firearm is a handgun. In the opinion of the California Rifle and Pistol Association, it seems reasonable that the liability standard be uniform, regardless of the type of firearm being purchased. Out of the many thousand handgun transactions each year, there are usually a few errors or omissions, but generally less than a dozen. In lawsuits brought because of a handgun buyer backgournd check error or omission, settlements are paid out of the $14.00 fee charged by buyers of all firearms. Making the liability standards for handguns conform to those already in law for rifles and shotguns will help reduce the necessity for a future background check fee increase. *** Please tune in next week for another update on legislative actions in the state capitol. To find out more about the California Rifle and Pistol Association, call (800) 305-CRPA, that's (800) 305-CRPA. ***************End of article******** By the way, The people in the Fullerton, CA office of the CRPA deserve a pat on the back for making this update available for posting on the internet. If you want to let them know that you appreciate this, their phone number is (714) 992-2772 or if you want to fax them a note of thanks, their fax number is (714) 992-2996. Their legislative aides helped make this prossible. All for now. More next week. John W. ********************************************************************** ** They came for the 4th amendment, and I didn't mind being ** ** searched because I didn't do drugs. ** ** ** ** They came for the 1st amendment, and I didn't mind because ** ** I don't speak controversial things. ** ** ** ** They came for the 2nd amendment, and I didn't mind because ** ** I don't own a gun. ** ** ** ** Then they came for the rest, in the name of protecting us ** ** from ourselves. And at that point I couldn't do anything. ** **********************************************************************