California is a state that is known for it’s tight gun laws. And after a mass shooting at a Dec. 2 holiday party at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino left 14 victims dead and 22 others wounded, part of the public debate turned to how suspects Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik got their hands on assault-style weapons.
The rifles were legal to purchase in the state of California. However both had been modified to make them illegal under the state's assault weapons ban.
Here's a primer on the state's assault weapons ban.
What is the California assault weapons ban?
The Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 became law on January 1, 1990. It established the "assault weapon" as a new classification of firearms, and prohibited anyone from buying them without a special permit. Those who already owned a firearm deemed an assault weapon were able to keep it.
Three types of firearms are banned under the law, writes Matt Drange from the Center for Investigative Reporting:
The first bans weapons by name, such as the original Colt AR-15. The second covers the popular AK and AR-15 rifle platforms, which include a host of similar guns made by different manufacturers. And the third includes guns that feature generic characteristics, such as pistol grips and telescoping stocks, which are largely cosmetic.
How did the law come to be?
Five people died and 29 others were injured in a school shooting in Stockton in January 1989 leading to California's first-in-the-nation ban on assault weapons. Two Los Angeles politicians, Assemblyman Mike Roos and Senate leader David A. Roberti, were behind that bill. Roos asserted that opposition to his bill was the "last gasp of the NRA."
Has the law faced any legal challenges?
The law was upheld in 1999 via the Kasler v. Lockyer decision. A 2001 decision — Harrott v. Kings County — altered that decision slightly. It required the department of justice to determine which specific makes and models of AR-style and AK-syle weapons are prohibited.
Are there loopholes?
Bullet buttons can render the law basically useless. As described by the Daily Beast: "a rifle is not an assault weapon if it has a fixed magazine" as opposed to a detachable magazine. A fixed magazine means it can't be removed without dissembling a portion of the firearm or without using a "tool." Soon firearms started to feature a button that could release a magazine by pushing it with the tip of a bullet, which was deemed a non-tool.
Why hasn't this loophole been closed?
A 2013 bill that would have closed the bullet button loophole was veteoed by Gov. Jerry Brown in October of that year.