Legal & Legislative

Legal & Legislative Affairs Committee

The Legal and Legislative Affairs Committee is responsible for tracking developments at the state and federal level in the field of product liability law and legislation that impact the design, manufacture and sale of firearms, ammunition and propellants by SAAMI member companies.

The Legal and Legislative Affairs Committee actively represents our members' interests in Washington, D.C., before Congress, the Executive Branch, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation - National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) and other federal regulatory agencies.

The Legal and Legislative Affairs Committee also focuses closely on state legislative proposals. For example, the Committee played a leading role recently in defeating several California bills - bullet serialization and firearms micro-stamping -- that, while well-intentioned, were neither realistic nor workable. Had these bills passed, they would have had disastrous consequence for law enforcement, citizens and SAAMI member companies alike.

The Committee is proactive, too, working to advance legislation consistent with SAAMI's mission. For example, the Committee worked together with a strong coalition of business groups, shooting sports organizations and the conservation community to win passage in Congress of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms, a law that blocks "junk" lawsuits that would blame firearm manufactures for the actions of criminals.

SAAMI Opposes Pending Legislation in California

Senate Bill 357: Serial Numbers On Ammunition By January 2007 California's attorney general has suspended for now this bill that would require serial numbers on all handgun ammunition, including rimfire ammunition. California State Sen. Joe Dunn predicts the measure will be reactivated and could be delivered to the governor next year. California gun owners can and should continue to urge their legislators to stop this ill-considered legislation. The bill, if enacted, amounts to a de facto ammunition ban in California.

AB 352: Microstamping & Bullet Serialization Bill Is Defeated The firearms industry has scored a major victory in the California Assembly. AB 352 would have mandated the use of unreliable, patented, sole-sourced technology, (as shown by independent research conducted by a leading forensic firearm examiner,) to microstamp firearms and would have permitted the Attorney General to require bullet serialization of all ammunition, including shot gunshells. Ammunition makers said it was impossible to put serial numbers on all ammunition without going bankrupt and they could have been forced to stop all sales of ammunition in California. The California Senate approved mandatory firearms microstamping (AB 352) by a 22 - 18 vote. The bill was defeated in the California Asssembly.