California legislators moved forward with a dozen gun control proposals on Wednesday, according to the LA Times.
Lawmakers were motivated by recent mass shootings, including the massacre in Newtown, Conn., to increase gun control measures in the state, which already has some of the toughest gun laws in the country.
“We all can recite the horrific acts that have occurred in our country over the last year,” Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D) said, as quoted by the Times. “These bills attempt to respond to those well-publicized tragedies and many more that go unpublicized.”
The state legislature advanced bills aimed at further restricting the purchase of ammunition and semiautomatic weapons. Those looking to buy ammunition would be compelled to provide personal information and pay a $50 fee for a background check by the state, where the Department of Justice would then determine if buyers have a criminal record, mental illness, or restraining order that would prevent them from owning a gun in the first place. The sale, purchase, or manufacture of semiautomatic rifles with detachable magazines would be outlawed.
Another measure would require the state’s Department of Justice to alert local law enforcement when an individual buys more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition.
