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Calif. Proposal Would Laser-Brand ID Number on Bullets
California's attorney general wants to crack down on gun violence by laser-branding all handgun bullets sold in the state with tiny identification numbers nearly invisible to the naked eye. The controversial proposal could open the way for the next major debate over gun control in California, a state that already has some of the toughest such laws in the United States. Attorney General Bill Lockyer is expected to discuss his proposal at a meeting on gun crime on Thursday with Los Angeles Mayor Jim Hahn and a citizens group, an aide said on Wednesday. Under the plan, all ammunition sold in California would have a serial number etched by laser on the bullet and casing. Bullets without such micro-markings, including those from outside the state, would be barred by law, with some exceptions for sport shooters who make their own ammunition. No other U.S. state requires microscopic identification numbers to be etched on bullets, although similar technology is used to brand airplane and auto parts, backers of the proposal said. "We think this is a very valid idea that could solve crimes quickly," said Hallye Jordan, a spokeswoman for Lockyer, one of the state's leading Democrats. "It's something that the cops going to a crime scene involving shooting victims, once they recover the spent cartridge or bullets they can look at it right there," she said. "We have a database where they can put the number right in and then drive to the person's house whose bullets they were."
Posted by: Steve 2004-10-08 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=45411 |