Jerry Brown Signs Bill Requiring Gov’t Serial Number on Homemade Guns

On July 22, Jerry Brown signed a bill mandating government-issued serial numbers be placed on all homemade guns.

The bill, AB 857, requires individuals to apply for a serial number from the government before constructing a homemade gun, and outlaws the sale of such guns.

According to the Sacramento Bee, AB 857 was sponsored by Assemblyman Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove), who described his efforts as “preventing people who are prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms in California from simply making their own at home instead.” But as with other gun controls, only law-abiding citizens will comply with the new law. For this reason, the NRA described AB 857 as just another gun control measure that “will cost California hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to enforce” without deterring crime.

The Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) notes that Brown vetoed identical legislation in 2014. At that time, Brown said, “I appreciate the author’s concerns about gun violence, but I can’t see how adding a serial number to a homemade gun would significantly advance public safety.” FPC president Brandon Combs said Brown’s flipflop to sign AB 857 “shows how craven California’s despotic ruling class has become.”

On July 1 Brown signed six new gun controls into law, including an expansion of the state’s “assault weapons” ban, an ammunition background check requirement, and a statewide ban on “high capacity” magazines. The bill requiring background checks for ammunition purchasers means persons buying bullets will have to pass a check at the point of sale like a person buying a gun. It will almost certainly lead to a database of ammunition owners similar to the database of gun owners that already exists in the state.