Proposed California Gun Bills Would Ban Semi-Auto Centerfire Rifles With Detachable Magazines

Late last week, California lawmakers sent a list of gun-control bills intended curtail Second Amendment rights–colorfully dubbed the Life-saving Intelligent Firearms Enforcement Act (LIFE)–to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk to sign into law.

A report from Guns.com says the most egregious is Senate Bill 374, which prohibits the manufacture, sale or possession of any semiautomatic centerfire rifle that accepts a detachable magazine. Furthermore, the state will consider those types of firearms “assault weapons” and require current owners to register their weapon(s) by July 1, 2015.

Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) is the sponsor of SB 374 and says semiautomatic rifles with detachable magazines aren’t appropriate for responsible citizens.

“These types of weapons have in fact been used in many of the mass killings our country has suffered over the years,” continued Steinberg. “In nine out of 10 of those mass killings, the shooter had no serious prior criminal history. It’s time to reduce the carnage. It’s time to close the loopholes.”

Other measures under the LIFE umbrella include

• Expanding the handgun safety requirement to require a safe-handling demonstration to receive a long gun
• Updating the definition of assault weapon to include rifled-bore shotguns and revolving cylinder.
• Expanding the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) to include multiple drug and alcohol offenses.