by Joseph P. Tartaro
Executive Editor

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sept. 13 out his signature on AB-50, by Assemblyman Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood), a measure which bans the sale of new single-shot or semi-automatic .50 BMG caliber rifles and requires registration of similar guns already in the possession of California shooters.

The California measure adds .50-caliber BMG rifles to the state’s existing list of so-called assault weapons and also bans the sale of .50 BMG ammunition.

Schwarzenegger, a Republican, is on record as a gun control advocate although he had not publicly taken an early position on Koretz’s measure or other recently passed state gun control legislation.

The governor did not elaborate on why he signed the bill or on the timing of his signature—on the day the federal gun and magazine ban expired—and his press office declined to comment.

According to The Sacramento Bee, law enforcement officials had pushed for strict regulation of the military-grade rifles, saying that, because they can hit targets more than a mile away with precision, they could pose a threat in the hands of terrorists aiming at airplanes or oil refineries.

Gun rights advocates, including the Fifty Caliber Institute, said the rifles were used by enthusiasts for target shooting and have never been used to commit crimes in the state or anywhere else.

In fact, the Institute found the signing of the measure which will establish an expanded and expensive firearms bureaucracy ironic in view of other extreme budget restrictions imposed by the state government.

AB-50 contains a provision which mandates a state-funded media campaign to educate current owners of the guns of the registration requirement.

Schwarzenegger’s action put into law the nation’s first ban on a class of firearms based only upon their caliber. The action in California, which was the first state to enact a ban on so-called assault weapons in 1989, is viewed by many observers as encouraging anti-gunners in other states to play “follow-the-leader.”

Despite claims of the Violence Policy Center (VPC) and other gun-control advocates that the .50 BMG rifles pose a risk as tools of terrorists, government agencies have indicated the opposite. The ban was not supported by the Department of Homeland Security, nor its Transportation Security Administration, the FBI or any other reputable agency.

According to the Fifty Caliber Institute, after failing to pass on first consideration, AB-50 squeaked through the legislature only with the bizarre legislative trick known as “ghost voting.” This is a procedure in which lawmakers press the electronic voting button of absent colleagues.

VPC Senior Policy Analyst Tom Diaz stated in a press release: “California has once again confirmed its status as a bellwether state in preventing gun violence. . . . We look forward to other states, and eventually the US Congress, following its lead.”

Also in September, Schwarzenegger signed AB-2431, a bill that will streamline the mechanism for returning firearms to their rightful owners, a major improvement on the current system in the state.