Phyrfight Intel

Bill would require serial numbers on bullets

Star Telegram/Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A state Senate committee approved a proposal Tuesday to put a serial number on every handgun bullet made or sold in California.

The measure cleared the Senate Public Safety Committee on a 4-2 vote over opposition from manufacturers, firearms dealers and sport shooters.

The technology exists to laser-cut bullets with a number that police could use to trace who purchased bullets used in crimes, said Democratic sponsor Sen. Joseph Dunn.

Purchasers would pay up to a half a cent per bullet to fund record-keeping by the state Department of Justice. Vendors would pay up to $50 a year.

“We’ll solve a lot of crimes if this becomes law,” said Attorney General Bill Lockyer.

If approved by the Legislature, the law would take effect in July 2007.

There is a new campaign dedicated to the preservation of individual rights. The campaign was created by Bruce Schneier, as a symbol of the rights of individuals and hopes for it to become a universal symbol for personal freedom. On the website there are graphics to download and links to mugs and shirts.

This is an exchange between a reader in New York and the editor of the Federalist Patriot newsletter.

“In your article ‘The Gun Problem,’ (No. 05-13) you quote the Second Amendment, sort of. You and many other people conveniently omit the first half of the amendment, which refers to a militia. Our soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan, South Korea, etc., are militias. Our National reserves, National Guard are militias. I am not a militia, you are not a militia. This amendment refers to militias only. People like you need to quit omitting the first half of the amendment.” –New York, New York

Editor’s Reply: Open a history book and read up on who comprised the ready “militia” in 1787, and you will find it was the citizenry, not a standing army or organized reserve army. It is clear in the writings of our Founders that “well regulated militia” meant “a vigilant and prepared citizenry.” Our founders universally detested standing armies, as, historically, they had been used by monarchies to oppress the will of the people. Thus, our Founders wisely determined that the best provision for the preservation of liberty was that the people be armed. Accordingly, Justice Joseph Story, appointed to the Supreme Court by the author of our Constitution, James Madison, noted, “The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered as the palladium of the liberties of a republic…” Indeed, historians have long confirmed this understanding, and more than a few court cases have cited it. For the record, “people like you need to quit omitting” the Historic context of the word “militia.”

(CNSNews.com) – The president of the Springfield, Ill., chapter of the Million Mom March faces charges of having drugs and an illegal handgun in her home. Press reports said the gun’s serial number had been scratched off.

Read more