Discussion: Cali Gov. Signs Strict Gun Control Bills, Includes Turn Ins For High-Capacity Magazines

Thanks Gov. Jerry … and California ! —

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Okay at least one of these was written by someone who’s only ever had an “assualt weapon” described to them by someone else who also had only ever had one described to them over the phone.

The hell is a “bullet button”? Do they mean “magazine release”? That is literally just a button and does not require a second “tool” to facilitate magazine changes, it’s literally “press button, magazine drops, put new magazine in” no tools involved… This measure targets exactly 0 guns that actually exist… Or… Every weapon that has a magazine, I can’t really tell, because as a former weapons petty officer I have never heard of this “bullet button/ tool” magazine change system. It’s actually sounds slow and cumbersome, and like a gun control measure that could be used to still allow the sale of so called “assualt rifles” but to make them harder to use.

Having very little working knowledge of firearms, I don’t know, but that sort of caught my eye as well. How familiar are you with guns? There is another commenter on these threads who’s pretty well-versed on the subject(s) of guns, the types, how they’re made, etc. Her name is @arrendis. If you’re out there and see this, your thoughts, arrendis? Thanks.

Like I said I used to operate the armory on board two Coast Guard Cutters. I was responsible for .50 caliber heavy machine guns (M2s), M-16 A2s, shotguns and several .40 caliber handguns, and M14s… I also enjoy shooting sports and own several types of guns (but not an. AR-15… Though I want one, loved shooting them in the CG) and have never heard of this “bullet button” nonsense… I don’t even know how it would work.

Also… All limiting magazine sizes does is force mass murders to carry more magazines… 6x 5 round mags= 3x 10 round mags= 2x 15 round mags= 1x 30 round mag… Average reload time for an AR-15… 2.5 seconds

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Ah, I missed the part about the armory … sorry about that. You know, I’ve considered going to a shooting range. I don’t own a gun and it’s been many years since I’ve even fired one, but it is an awesome feeling of raw power. I remember many years ago when our family lived out in the country, we’d shot cans and bottles. I could never bring myself to shoot a living creature – I was such a wussy (according to my brothers, anyway). I still wouldn’t do that, but I could shoot at skeet and the paper bad guys. LOL.

Well, with all your experience and you not understanding what this one bill really targets, I’m even more curious: wtf?

Yeah I’d have to read the actual language (and then try in vain to parse the legalese) to figure out what this even meant…

Also I like to shoot paper targets (and if you ask me I think “sillouhte” style targets should be banned from public sale) and clay pigeons. I have never been hunting (and don’t want to) and lived in fear of ever having to draw my weapon while I was in the Coast Guard (luckily never had to even draw my pepper spray let alone my handgun)

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Google is our friend. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullet_button

Start with the fact that under California law, apparently, a semi-automatic rifle with a “detachable magazine” is an assault rifle. Perhaps there are caliber or barrel length restrictions as well, I dunno. The key part is the detachable magazine - if you have that, it may be an assault rifle. If not, then it’s not.

Essentially, a “bullet button” replaces the normal finger-operated magazine release with a small press-in button that needs to be operated by a “tool” - and a bullet (a cartridge, technically) is legally defined as a “tool” in this case. Think of, say, the little paper-clip hole used to open a CD tray instead of the normal button. But sized so the tip of a bullet will fit. Modifying your AR-15 to add a bullet button made the magazine “non detachable” and therefore the weapon is not classifiable as an “assault rifle” in CA (avoiding several restrictions on ownership, I suppose). Basically a bullshit trick to get around regs.

That particular modification is apparently now illegal, and the normal magazine release will be required, with the accompanying re-classification of the weapon back to “assault rifle”.

[quote=Wikipedia]The bullet button recesses a small release within a block that replaces the magazine release. The recessed button to detach the magazine cannot be pressed by the shooter’s finger. Firearms with this feature no longer have a “detachable magazine” under California’s assault weapons definition, and therefore may be exempt depending on the other requirements.

The 2012 court case Haynie v Pleasanton validated that a bullet button is legal and rifles that have one installed are not considered assault weapons.[2]

Many tools have been devised to make it easier and faster to release a magazine from a rifle, as California law states that the user must use an external tool not attached to the rifle. A popular tool, the “magnet button,” which sticks on the bullet button, has not been determined to be illegal. The use of illegal buttons may cause the rifle to be considered an assault weapon, which is a felony and could result in prosecution.[/quote]

/ex-military
//gun owner
///in favor of these laws

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homemade firearms

Do I even want to know about those?

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As boidster’s said, the “bullet button” is a California peculiarity. Basically, it’s a new law saying ‘no, you can’t get around the other gun laws by doing this’. No problems there.

My concern about this law is the high-capacity magazine turn-in. How exactly do you enforce it? Go door to door demanding to search everyone’s homes? Obviously, not. So sure, you’ll catch people who bring the magazines out to the range, but otherwise, it’s just another crime to add onto charges brought against people who are already committing crimes. I sympathize with the intent, but the whackadoodles stockpiling ammo in their survival bunkers and feverishly seeing the gub’mint coming for their guns in every shadow… this is just gonna fuel their looniness, and it won’t get the magazines out of their hands. If people want these magazines, they’ll still be able to get them, without any significant difficulty. This is a feel-good measure that won’t actually make a lick of difference, unfortunately.

There’s a couple of different ways this is used. They might mean zip guns, or guns designed on a regular CAD system and then produced in a small machine shop - there are folks with fully-capable shops in their garage. It’s not difficult.

What’s even easier, and they might also mean this, is that you can order pretty much all of the parts for a firearm without it ever being a firearm - just like ordering a muffler isn’t buying a car. Then assemble at home. For the record, it’s easier than assembling a car. Ta-da!

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