Gun Laws 2015 News: Pro-Gun Groups Slam California's Pistol Microstamping Law, Await Court Ruling

Two pro-gun groups are awaiting the court's decision on California's gun microstamping law, which was passed in 2007, which they say will "eliminate the handgun market" in the state to the detriment of qualified gun owners.

The Crime Gun Identification Act of 2007, passed in the California legislature and signed by then Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, requires all semiautomatic pistols sold in the state to have microstamping technology. The technology is defined as "microscopic array of characters that identify the make, model, and serial number of the pistol, etched or otherwise imprinted in two or more places on the interior surface or internal working parts of the pistol, and that are transferred by imprinting on each cartridge case when the firearm is fired."

A case was filed in court in 2009 to overturn California's handgun "roster" regulations which, critics say, ban handguns not on the list of acceptable handgun models approved by the legislature.

An amended complaint was filed in 2013 to challenge the microstamping requirement.

California Eastern District Judge Kimberly Mueller is hearing the case.

"This is about the state trying to eliminate the handgun market," said Alan Gura, the lead attorney in Pena v. Lindley, filed on behalf of the Second Amendment Foundation and Calguns Foundation against the Chief of the California Department of Justice Bureau of Firearms.

"The evidence submitted by the manufacturers shows this is science fiction and there is not a practical way to implement the law. At some point gun sales will cease," he said, as reported by Fox News.

The law states that the microstamping requirement becomes effective when the Department of Justice "certifies that the technology used to create the [microstamp] imprint is available to more than one manufacturer unencumbered by any patent restrictions."

California Chief Deputy Attorney General Rochelle East issued on May 17, 2013 a certification that microstamping technology is available to more than one manufacturer.

When the law took effect, no gun manufacturer has made a new firearm with the microstamping technology, Fox News reported.

Gun manufacturers Smith & Wesson, and Sturn, Ruger & Co. said last year they would stop selling new firearms in California because of the restrictive law.