Californians support ‘amnesty’ for high-capacity gun magazine owners, survey says
A majority of Californians, including gun owners, support an “amnesty” program where high-capacity firearm magazine owners can turn them in, “no questions asked.”
More than 62 percent of Californians surveyed said that they favor such a program, which 51 percent of gun owners also said they supported.
The results, published in JAMA Network Open, come from the Violence Prevention Research Program at University of California, Davis. Researchers interpreted data from an online survey of 2,558 California adults that was conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs.
California voters in 2016 passed Proposition 63, which banned gun magazines that carry more than 10 rounds of ammunition. A federal judge in early 2019 struck down the law and it is currently being reviewed by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. In the interim, it is illegal to buy or sell high-capacity magazines. It is legal to possess them.
A majority of liberals (77 percent) and moderates (56.9 percent) also support an amnesty program, while half (50.4 percent) of conservatives favor one.
The amnesty program had less support among members of firearms rights organizations, like the National Rifle Association (40.5 percent), owners of four to nine guns (35.6 percent), owners of 10 or more guns (26.7 percent) and owners of high-capacity magazines (41.4 percent).
The survey also asked Californians whether they would support a five-year ban on purchasing guns for anyone who gets more than one driving under the influence conviction in five years.
Again, a majority of respondents (67.9 percent) said they favor such a law, though just half of gun owners did. Liberals (75.2 percent), moderates (67 percent) and conservatives (61.6 percent) supported such a ban, as did a slight majority (54.5 percent) of gun group members.
This story was originally published January 9, 2020 at 12:19 PM with the headline "Californians support ‘amnesty’ for high-capacity gun magazine owners, survey says."
