DAVIS SIGNS ARMS BILLS; ACTION ADDS TEETH TO ASSAULT RIFLE BAN.

Byline: Dan Smith Scripps-McClatchy Western Service

Fulfilling a vow he made often during last year's campaign for governor, Gov. Gray Davis on Monday signed a measure intended to strengthen California's decade-old ban on assault weapons.

The governor also approved a bill that would limit the purchase of handguns to no more than one per month per person.

``As long as these guns are accessible, the lives of our children and our law enforcement officers are threatened,'' Davis said, alluding to the ``copycat'' assault weapons that would be banned under the law. Copycat weapons are renamed or modified guns designed to effectively avoid provisions of the original 1989 law.

Davis used the assault weapon issue often during the 1998 gubernatorial campaign, vowing to sign a bill that then-Gov. Pete Wilson had vetoed twice before. And he hammered on his Republican opponent, then-Attorney General Dan Lungren, for not working forcefully to strengthen the ban.

Flanked by other politicians, police officials and surviving victims of a 1993 massacre in San Francisco, Davis marked the occasion Monday by sawing in half an SK-47, a Chinese-made semiautomatic rifle modeled after the Russian AK-47, which was specifically banned in the original law.

Earlier in the day - with less fanfare - Davis signed the one-gun-a-month law. Supporters say that bill will prevent gun traffickers from buying handguns in bulk and then illegally reselling the guns to criminals and youths.

Gun control advocates said both new laws, which will take effect Jan. 1, put California at the vanguard of gun control in the nation.

``Once again, California is a beacon of responsible gun policy, leading the country with sensible laws that will keep assault weapons and deadly handguns out of the hands of criminals and kids,'' said Sarah Brady, chairwoman of Handgun Control, which sponsored both bills.

Those opposed to the new laws, however, said they will do little to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and gun traffickers and, instead, would restrict the rights of law-abiding gun owners. Both bills passed the Democrat-controlled Legislature with narrow majorities.

The assault weapon bill, SB 23 by Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland, is intended to tighten the 1989 ban by specifically defining the banned weapons instead of listing individual models to be prohibited.

The bill would ban specific features on semiautomatic rifles, shotguns and pistols that make them concealable and easily maneuverable. Features that would be banned include folding or telescoping stocks; handgrips of different types; grenade or flare launchers; and threaded barrels capable of accepting silencers or flash suppressors.

As of Jan. 1, people already owning guns that fall under the new definition would be given a one-year grace period to register their weapons with the state. After that, sales and transfers of those guns would be prohibited.

Moreover, the legislation would ban, as of Jan. 1, the sale, manufacture or importation of detachable ammunition magazines that can accept more than 10 rounds. Magazines obtained before the effective date would be allowed.

The one-gun-a-month bill, AB 202 by Assemblyman Wally Knox, D-Los Angeles, would limit the purchase of handguns in California to no more than one per month per person.

According to the state Department of Justice, nearly 41,000 of the approximately 183,000 handguns sold in California last year went to people who bought more than one at a time.

WHAT'S RESTRICTED UNDER GUN LEGISLATION

Under legislation signed Monday by Gov. Gray Davis, any of the following is considered a restricted assault weapon:

A semiautomatic, center-fire rifle with the capacity to accept a detachable magazine, which has at least one of the following: a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon; a vertical handgrip; a folding or telescoping stock; a grenade launcher or flare launcher; a flash suppressor; or a forward handgrip.

A semiautomatic, center-fire rifle with a fixed magazine that accepts more than 10 rounds.

A semiautomatic center-fire rifle less than 30 inches long.

A semiautomatic pistol that can use a detachable magazine and has at least one of the following: a threaded barrel, capable of accepting a flash suppressor, forward handgrip or silencer; a second handgrip; a barrel shroud that allows firing without burning the shooter's hand; or a capacity to accept a detachable magazine someplace other than the pistol grip.

A semiautomatic pistol with a fixed magazine that has the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.

A semiautomatic shotgun with both of the following: a folding or telescoping stock; and a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon, thumbhole stock or vertical handgrip.

A semiautomatic shotgun that can accept a detachable magazine.

Any shotgun that has a revolving cylinder.

SOURCE: State Assembly analysis

CAPTION(S):

Box

BOX: WHAT'S RESTRICTED UNDER GUN LEGISLATION (see text)

Scripps-McClatchy Western Service