SACRAMENTO — Whether you’re happy it passed or disappointed, California voters gave the green light to Proposition 63. Sixty-three percent voted for it while 37 percent voted against it.
One part of the proposition requires background checks to buy ammunition. In anticipation of the change, gun owners scrambled to buy ammo this weekend. Some waited in line for an hour at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show at Cal Expo.
“We just stocked up, this will hold us over,” said gun owner Richard Scott. “This won’t be fired right away, we’ll hang on to this for a while.”
Proposition 63 also prohibits owning large capacity ammunition magazines.
It also doesn’t allow convicted felons and those with some misdemeanor crimes including assault or battery to own firearms or ammunition. Those with restraining orders against them or found by a court to be a danger to themselves or others due to mental illness are also prohibited.
Gun control advocates say the proposition is a step in the right direction.
“Makes it safer for the public to be in a population where there are lots of guns,” said Mimi Budd with the Brady Campaign.
However, opponents are skeptical.
“I don’t know that it’s going to make any difference in terms of criminals having access to ammunition and firearms; they have their regular sources,” said Bob Templeton, owner of the Crossroads of the West Gun Shows.
Even with its passage, the debate on Proposition 63 remains heated on both sides.
“It seems to be an attempt to make it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to exercise their right to own and use firearms lawfully,” Templeton said.
“We’re looking for sensible restraints on the ways guns function and that’s all we’re asking basically,” Budd said.
