SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With gathering
 evidence about the promise of microstamping technology, leading gun
 violence prevention groups are urging California legislators to pass a
 bill, AB 1471, that would put the technology to work.
     Microstamping technology was most recently demonstrated last Friday at
 the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill. There, the co-inventor
 of the technology, Todd Lizotte, conducted a successful live fire
 demonstration of the technology at the building's shooting range with media
 and Hill staff in attendance. Participants were able to see the remarkable
 clarity and redundancy of the technology when Lizotte projected a
 microscopic view of a microstamped cartridge onto a projector screen.
     "All of the questions about microstamping have been answered," said
 Joshua Horwitz, Executive Director of the Educational Fund to Stop Gun
 Violence. "It has passed test after test. Law enforcement leaders want
 this. Community groups want this. It's time to get it done."
     Microstamping technology utilizes lasers to make precise, microscopic
 engravings on the breech face and firing pin of a gun. As the gun is fired,
 information indicating the make, model and serial number of the gun is
 stamped onto the cartridge as numbers and letters. The technology promises
 to greatly aid law enforcement officials in investigating homicides and
 other crimes by allowing them to trace firearms through cartridge casings
 found at crime scenes (officials would not need to recover the crime gun
 itself). Currently, 45% of homicide investigations in California do not
 result in the arrest of a suspect, primarily because of a lack of evidence.
     AB 1471 would mandate manufacturer microstamping of all new
 semiautomatic handgun models sold in California by 2010. The bill was
 introduced by Assemblyman Mike Feuer and approved by the Assembly Committee
 on Public Safety by a 5-2 vote on April 24. The California Brady Campaign
 Chapters and the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence are committed to
 working with state legislators and the governor to enact AB 1471 into law.
     One recent "study" that was critical of the technology has since been
 discredited. University of California, Davis (UCD) graduate student Michael
 Beddow conducted a microstamping analysis using non-optimized firing pins
 and vintage firearms that had never been considered for testing previously
 because of their model age (10-50+ years) and mechanical condition. A
 subsequent university press release stated that microstamping "does not
 work well for all guns and ammunition tested" and required "more testing
 ... to determine the costs and feasibility of a statewide program."
     A letter was then sent to Assemblyman Feuer by UCD Chancellor Larry N.
 Vanderhoef, apologizing for "misimpressions" created by the press release.
 In the letter, Vanderhoef "set the record straight" by noting that: a)
 Beddow's study has not been peer reviewed; b) it was not commissioned by
 the state legislature; and c) it drew false conclusions in regards to AB
 1471, which calls for microstamping of only new models of semiautomatic
 handguns.
     "Critics are going to throw everything at this bill to try to prevent
 real progress," said Kay Holmen, President of the California Brady Campaign
 Chapters. "The fact is that the gun lobby has no real arguments against the
 science - and feasibility - of microstamping technology."
     The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence was founded in 1978 as a
 nonprofit educational organization dedicated to ending firearm violence,
 particularly as it affects children. Our mission is to stop gun violence by
 fostering effective community and national action. For more information
 about the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, visit
 http://www.efsgv.org.
     As the nation's largest, non-partisan, grassroots organization leading
 the fight to prevent gun violence, the Brady Campaign, working with its
 dedicated network of Million Mom March Chapters, is devoted to creating an
 America free from gun violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at
 school, at work, and in our communities. For more information about the
 Brady Campaign, visit http://www.bradycampaign.org.
     Contact:
     Ladd Everitt, Coalition, 202-408-0061, x. 103
     Kay Holmen, California Brady Campaign Chapters, 818-421-3038
     Peter Hamm, Brady Campaign, 202-898-0792
 
 

SOURCE Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence