California Implements Cartridge Micro-Stamping Gun Control Legislation

Law, passed in 2007, was held for better technology and the expiration of private patents before implementation.

Every new semiautomatic handgun will contain “micro-stamping” technology that would allow California police to trace a weapon from cartridges found at a crime scene due to a 2007 gun-control law that is finally ready for implementation.

The law made California the first state to require micro-stamping, which engraves the gun’s serial number on each cartridge. The legislation specified that it would only take effect when the technology was available and all private patents had expired.

At a Los Angeles news conference Friday, Attorney General Kamala Harris announced that micro-stamping had cleared all technological and patenting hurdles and would be required on newly sold semiautomatics, effective immediately, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

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