California has strict gun laws. Here's how the Gilroy gunman evaded them
Source: The Guardian
US lawmakers renew calls for federal gun reform after shooter purchased weapon legally in Nevada
Vivian Ho in San Francisco
Mon 29 Jul 2019 22.27 BST Last modified on Tue 30 Jul 2019 00.56 BST
California has some of the most stringent gun laws in the country, including a ban on the type of rifle that a shooter used to kill three and wound 15 at the garlic food festival in Gilroy on Sunday.
But the gunman had legally purchased the “assault-type rifle”, in the style of an AK-47, from the neighboring state Nevada on 9 July before carrying it illegally over state lines into California, highlighting what some gun control advocates say is a loophole in the way laws operate, state by state.
The suspect, 19, opened fire in the last hours of the three-day garlic festival, a beloved annual tradition that draws thousands of attendees of all ages. He injured 15 people and killed three – a six-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl and a man in his 20s – before being shot dead by police officers, who rushed him within a minute of bullets being heard.
Link to tweet
The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence ranks California first in the nation for having the strongest gun laws.
California raised the minimum age to purchase a rifle to 21 in 2018. And last week, a federal judge upheld California’s ban on owning, manufacturing or selling semiautomatic rifles and so-called “bullet buttons”, rifle attachments that allow shooters to reload more quickly. The state has banned semi-automatic weapons for 20 years. The bullet button ban dates from 2016.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/29/gilroy-shooting-us-gun-control-california
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Last edited Wed Jul 31, 2019, 02:43 PM - Edit history (1)
A standard SKS has a fixed magazine and no pistol grip. It never had a select-fire full-auto variant. It fits no state's definition of "assault weapon." It belongs to a previous generation of military rifles, and has more in common with the M1 Garand of WWII than it does with the AK-47.
From top to bottom: M1 Garand, SKS, AK-47.
Somebody misspoke in a press conference and the media ran with it. The only thing an SKS has in common with an AK-47 is that they were both used by Eastern Bloc armies at one time. The SKS was replaced by the AK-47, just as the M1 Garand was replaced by first the M14 and then the M16.
EDIT TO ADD: Later reports indicate that the weapon used was a WASR-10, which is a civilian AK variant. Initial reports contained conflicting information.
I'm sure it'll perk them right up.
(Sarcasm alert, for those in need of it.)
You just banned M1 Garands and broom handle Mausers. And I was going to trick mine out to look like Han Solo's blaster 
Cling
Cling
In a discussion where the process of legislation is the topic, the deliberate willful misuse of terminology is advanced and demonstrates beyond any doubt that for some the sole motivation is a culture war.
LAW: the system of rules which a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and which it may enforce by the imposition of penalties.
I suppose those folks who go to law school are wasting some portion of their time and money because terminology just doesn't matter.
