Statement from the California Association of Firearms Retailers
on Governor's Signing of Anti-Gun Legislation

The decision by Governor Schwarzenegger to sign into law legislation that will ban traditional ammunition and mandate the flawed technology of firearms microstamping is poor public policy, careless and ill-considered.

Mr. Schwarzenegger, with no thought about how microstamping would negatively impact small business owners, firearms retailers and gun owners in the state, dismissed warnings from major manufacturers that a mandate of microstamping would force them from the California market. With the astronomical costs associated with reconfiguring manufacturing plants and assembly processes, it is no surprise that most manufacturers would find complying with microstamping to be cost prohibitive.

For manufacturers that decide to stay in the California market, it has been estimated that costs of their products will rise an average of $200 per firearm. This is sure to bring sales of firearms to a halt and in the process, jeopardize the livelihood of thousands of small business owners and the workers they employ.

California already has laws on the books that make manufacturing new models of firearms impossible. The best example of this is the loaded chamber indicator requirement for pistols. Not a single new model has been approved since the legislation went into effect.

The governor's decision to ban traditional ammunition under the guise of protecting the California condor has absolutely no basis in fact. There is simply no conclusive evidence that condors are getting sick from ingesting lead bullet fragments. What is conclusive is that the small business owners and firearms retailers who currently stock tens of thousands of rounds of traditional ammunition will have no place to sell it and will have to absorb the massive costs.

Hunters will now have to settle for alternate ammunition that is much more costly and that, according to research conducted by the Responsive Management Company, they feel is less effective and less available. A quarter of hunters in California are so devoted to using traditional ammunition that they stated to Responsive Management that a ban would see them hunt less, hunt outside the state, or cease hunting altogether. This translates into lost sales for anyone involved in the hunting industry including: cabin owners, restaurateurs and retailers of firearms, hunting supplies and camping gear. It is estimated that a ban on lead ammunition could cost 2,230 jobs, $15 million in state and federal income tax, $3.9 million per year in hunting license costs, $131 million a year in retail sales and $624,000 in federal excise tax money normally returned to California.

By signing these laws, the governor has hurt California retailers, small businesses and the Golden State itself. Mr. Schwarzenegger will go down as one of the most anti-gun governors in history and a weakling who, despite expert studies warning against microstamping and no conclusive scientific evidence surrounding the issue of condors ingesting lead ammunition, gave in to his personal family politics and special interests.

###