The recently passed Assembly Bill 2847 will require gun makers to imprint a microstamp in the interior of new models of handguns. Additionally, three existing non-compliant models will be removed for every newly manufactured one. As a consequence, current and future gun owners will soon experience a more limited selection of firearms available for purchase in California.
A microstamp, using the definition used by the bill, is “technology that transfers a microscopic array of characters from the firearm to the cartridge when the firearm is fired.”
Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) wrote AB-2847 with the objectives of reducing gun violence and aiding law enforcement in gun-related crimes.
Although the intention may be well-meaning, multiple studies doubt the reliability of existing imprinting technology. On firing pin microstamping technology, a study by the National Academy of Sciences concluded that “the durability and survivability of markings on the bullet are still major concerns. Bullets would also be likely to suffer corrosive effects of blood and other substances.”
Another study from Iowa State University stated that “legitimate questions exist related to the technical aspects, production costs, and database management associated with microstamping that should be addressed before wife scale implementation is legislatively mandated.”
The holder of the patent for microstamping technology himself made known that further studies should be conducted before its implementation.
Regardless, new gun legislation may be especially ill-timed. In California, according to a study published by the University of California-Davis, an estimated 110,000 individuals—including 47,000 new owners—have acquired a firearm during the coronavirus pandemic.
Kaiser Health News reports that the “FBI conducted 462,000 background checks related to handgun purchases in California from March through September, an increase of 209,000, or 83%, from the same period last year. That’s more than in any other seven-month period on record.”
“Background checks related to long gun or other gun sales also rose statewide, by 110,000, or 54%, from March through September compared with the same period in 2019,” KHN added.
It appears that the attitude of Californians towards gun ownership may be growing favorably, but the State Legislature must preserve our Second Amendment rights, rather than further constricting them.
