Mike, prudence dicatates that if one retains the SKS that they install the
original non detachable magazine every time they expose the weapon to the
public, i.e. shooting range or out in the desert. Failure to do so under
California law effective 1/1/2000 will result in a felony conviction that
will cost the user their rights to own any firearms in the future. This is
the latest intrepretation from the Attorney General's Office, not the
opinion of the writer.

Bear


Mike Haas  wrote in message
news:37F3A511.CE63F041@starnine.com...
> From the SF Chronicle.
>
> Gotta love the "...[SKS rifles] are literally the Saturday night
> specials of assault weapons..." quote by Stanley Voyles, Santa Clara
> County prosecutor.  Tell that to the families of the Americans that
> died on Korea, Vietnam, etc. at the barrel of those military-grade
> firearms.  Governments don't normally license and subsequently
> reproduce millions upon millions of unreliable weapons.
>
> Clearly Mr. Voyles wants all assaults carried out with high-quality,
> expensive semi-automatic firearms.  I guess now we know why
> California has worked so hard to spur the sales of AR15s, not
> to mention raising the price.
>
> Mike Haas
>
> PS... I have left a message on Mr. Voyles voice mail asking him to
> return my call; I'd actually like to hear his response to some
> of these questions.  For those that feel likewise, Mr. Voyles'
> direct number is (408) 792-2735.  After all, the legislators
> are out of session, so we must turn elsewhere to have
> our silly questions on these complex matters answered, and
> Mr. Voyles is obviously as smart as they regarding SKS rifles. :-)
>
> PS #2... Assuming a pool of 15.000 detachable SKS's sold,
> the 250 turned in so far equates to 1.7%, with 3 months to go.
> Do we see another problem on the horizon for Mr. Davis and Mr.
> Lockyer?  (Poor Mr. Davis and Mr. Lockyer.)
>
> PS #3...  Shouldn't this article actually be named
> "Illegal-Legal-Illegal-Gun Buyback Slow Going"?
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> from San Franciso Chronicle:
>
>                  Illegal-Gun Buyback Slow Going
>                  Only 250 rifles turned in despite
>                  budget for 5,600
>
>                  Bernadette Tansey, Chronicle Staff Writer
>
>
> Wednesday, September 29,
>
> 1999
>
>     Owners of a semiautomatic assault rifle listed as banned under
> California gun-control law 10 years ago can saunter into Concord
> police headquarters, plunk the weapon down and walk away without fear
> of arrest.
>
>     What is more, Concord police property officer Maryann Duncan will
> give the owners a voucher worth $230 for every one of the cheap SKS
> Sporter-type guns they turn in.
>
>     Duncan is one of scores of law enforcement officers across the
> state helping to administer a $1.4 million buyback program developed
> to deal with the fallout from a feud between gun-control advocates and
> former Attorney General Dan Lungren over the interpretation of
> California's 1989 assault-weapons ban.
>
>     Although the Legislature approved enough money to buy back more
> than 5,600 guns, only 250 have been turned in so far statewide, said
> Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for state Attorney General Bill Lockyer.
> After the January 1, 2000, deadline, anyone who owns, sells or
> possesses one of the guns could be charged with a felony.
>
>     Nobody knows why response to the buyback offer is so slow, but it
> coincides with a surge in gun purchases of as much as 30 percent in
> California over the past year.
>
>     Lockyer's office is using a Web site, broadcast ads and outreach
> to gun organizations to publicize the SKS program.
>
>     In a policy that later became a major issue in Lungren's
> unsuccessful bid for governor last year, Lungren took the position in
> the early 1990s that some of the SKS-series rifles listed in the 1989
> Roberti-Roos Assault Weapon Control Act were still legal if they were
> originally manufactured with a fixed clip holding about 10 bullets.
>
>     But the law clearly covered SKS rifles modified to accept a
> detachable AK-47 magazine that can contain dozens of bullets, said
> Stanley Voyles, a Santa Clara County prosecutor.
>
>     ``They are literally the Saturday night specials of assault
> weapons,'' said Voyles, who had opposed Lungren's challenge to the
> conviction of a San Jose man for possession of one of the rifles.  He
> said the modified SKS rifles were the cheapest and most popular of the
> assault weapons listed in the Roberti-Roos bill.
>
>     Lungren reversed his stand before his gubernatorial campaign
> began, but that left open the possibility that thousands of gun owners
> who had bought the weapons after relying on the opinion of the state's
> top law enforcement officer could be charged with a felony.
>
>     Gun advocates have estimated that as many as 15,000 of the semi-
> automatic rifles were sold during that period, Barankin said.
>
>     ``The truth is, however, no one knows (how many),'' he said.
>
>     The buyback program, which started January 1, includes immunity
> from prosecution for anyone who acquired SKS series rifles with a
> detachable magazine from 1992 to 1997. Owners can either surrender
> them for a voucher that the state will exchange for a check, destroy
> them or take them out of state.
>
>     Duncan said about eight or nine of the weapons have been turned in
> so far in Concord, which is handling the buyback program for several
> smaller cities in Contra Costa County as well. Most of the guns had
> been used only for target practice, and some of them had never been
> fired.
>
>     Some owners resent surrendering their guns, but the money helps a
> bit, she said. None of the owners has hesitated to give their names.
>
>     ``You're dealing with the law- abiding people,'' Duncan said.
>
>     Some of the owners may be waiting until the last minute to see
> whether the laws will change, said Santa Clara County sheriff's Sgt.
> John Hirokawa. He said about six guns have been turned in to the San
> Jose police, but his department so far has received none.
>
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