A report on “high capacity” magazine bans in Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco, and Sunnyvale shows the bans are not having any “actual impact.”
(Breitbart)- This means that “no magazines [have been] turned in, and none seized as a direct result of the local large-magazine bans on the books.” Therefore, criminals still have them, but law-abiding citizens cannot get them in LA, Oakland, San Francisco, and Sunnyvale.
Allison Anderman of the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence says, “The fact that these laws may be difficult to enforce in some cases is not an argument against enacting them.”
KQED reports that the core of the problem may be in the enforcement mechanism, as the punishment for possessing a banned magazine in the four cities is a misdemeanor. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley states, “The misdemeanor does allow us to take the guns away” and even to “destroy” magazines.
However, she explains, its best purpose is ensuring that with repeat offenders, subsequent violations can lead to harsher penalties.
The penalty for violating Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed statewide “high capacity” ban will also be a misdemeanor.