Groups assail governor on guns

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a quick-trigger, guns-a-blazing action hero in Hollywood, is being blasted by firearms groups as a Second Amendment wimp in the Capitol.

Schwarzenegger's signing of bills to require microstamping of semiautomatic pistols and to ban lead bullets in condor country has prompted gun groups to paint him as one of the state's most anti-gun Republican governors.

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger might as well change his last name to Kennedy because he is acting just like radical, anti-gun U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, his uncle-in-law," read a recent statement by Gun Owners of California, a nonprofit advocacy group.

"We don't believe he has a very clear understanding of the Second Amendment and what it means to protect the right to keep and bear arms," executive director Sam Paredes added in an interview. "We're very disappointed in his decisions."

Others dismiss such criticism as grossly unfair, noting that Schwarzenegger's record on gun bills tilts neither far left nor right.

"I think a lot of the extremely right-wing Republicans, who won't even vote against outlawing assault weapons, they're going to be upset with him," said Sen. Jack Scott, D-Altadena, who has had gun bills signed and vetoed. "To me, he's just a reasonable person on the issue."

No one who is qualified to buy guns will be prevented from doing so by the microstamping or condor bills, Scott noted.

Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger's spokesman, described the governor as "largely a centrist" on gun bills who evaluates each on merit, not politics.

"He's not a leader who simply kowtows to a particular constituency," McLear said. "He does what's best for California."

Schwarzenegger, in the past four years, has restricted sale and ownership of the .50-caliber BMG rifle, outlawed the firing of a BB gun in a "grossly negligent" manner, and removed a statutory disincentive for ammunition sellers to check the age of young buyers.

Schwarzenegger also has vetoed major gun legislation, including bills to require stores to keep ammunition in cases or behind a counter; prohibit adults from keeping a handgun somewhere that is accessible to a child; and require owners to report loss or theft of a handgun within five working days.

During the 2003 campaign, Schwarzenegger's first, he expressed mixed feelings on gun issues.

"I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment," Schwar- zenegger wrote on his Web site. "The U.S. Constitution allows for law-abiding citizens to own a firearm.

"I also believe that there are responsibilities that gun owners must follow in owning a firearm. I support the Brady bill – (requiring background checks for gun purchasers). I support the current assault weapons ban, and I believe that guns must have safety devices or be stored as to prevent accidental discharge."

Schwarzenegger sparked controversy last month by signing two measures opposed by most GOP legislators: Assembly Bill 1471, the microstamping measure; and Assembly Bill 821, the condor bill.

Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, said his AB 1471 will crack down on violent crime by requiring that new models of semiautomatic pistols, beginning in 2010, etch the gun's make, model and serial number in two places on each cartridge fired.

"I think this bill will revolutionize how gun crime is investigated," said Feuer, who contends that the etching technology is proven and available.

Feuer said his bill, supported by numerous police agencies, will link casings at a shooting scene to the weapon that fired them. The bill also will discourage "straw purchases" in which someone buys a gun to sell it illegally, Feuer said.

Gun manufacturers argue that etching technology is unreliable and can wear out; criminals can sidestep it by using guns that are old, stolen or from out of state; etching equipment can be vandalized to render it inoperable; and casings can be planted at a crime scene to frame someone.

The two sides also disagree on cost.

Lawrence Keane, senior counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, representing gun makers, said AB 1471 amounts to a ban on new semiautomatics because it would cost about $200 per gun to redesign production facilities.

But Feuer produced a letter from a laser-etching firm – Laserlight Technologies – that estimated the bill's requirements would increase costs by only a few dollars per gun, at most, depending upon quantity produced.

Schwarzenegger, in his signing message, said the technology is "not without limitations" but that he viewed AB 1471 as an "additional tool for solving crimes."

"The only explanation for signing this bill, knowing that it doesn't work, is that the governor is anti-gun," Keane said.

Schwarzenegger's signing of the condor bill, AB 821, will ban use of lead ammunition while hunting big game in the California condor range, primarily coastline from Big Sur to Santa Barbara. California condors, once nearly extinct, now number about 300.

AB 821 hopes to lessen the risk of lead poisoning to condors that feed on carcasses of game killed by hunters. Studies have found elevated lead levels in numerous condors, according to a legislative committee analysis of the bill.

Opponents of AB 821 argue that there is no irrefutable scientific proof that lead bullets are the source of condor poisoning; that some hunters consider nonlead bullets inferior; that the ban could hurt ammunition sales; and that the state simply should ask hunters to bury their game carcasses.

Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, said the two bills "enlarge the power of government at the expense of individual liberty."

DeVore said Schwarzenegger's track record lacks an ideological anchor and appears to be "increasingly driven by popularity in polls."

But Assemblyman Pedro Nava, a Santa Barbara Democrat who proposed the condor bill, said firearm issues are not always a fair political litmus test. Nava said he supports gun ownership, for example, but opposes use of lead bullets in condor country.

McLear, Schwarzenegger's spokesman, said voters support the governor's independence.

"I think the majority of Californians agree that he is acting in their best interests," McLear said.

About the writer:

• Call Jim Sanders, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5538.