• Proposed legislation that would require microstamping technology on all newly manufactured semiautomatic handguns sold in Illinois, beginning in 2011, has been introduced in the Illinois state senate.
• Since no manufacturer is currently producing a firearm capable of microstamping a cartridge case, the passage of Senate Bill 3425 would effectively ban new handgun sales in Illinois.
• You will recall that California was the first state to pass a microstamping law (although Washington D.C. has passed similar legislation), while five states introduced microstamping proposals last year (Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Wisconsin) and several additional states are said to be awaiting the outcome in California before proceeding with their own bills.
• Although the California handgun microstamping law, which was passed in 2007, called for implementation on January 1, 2010, the law will remain on hold until California officials can finalize regulations governing how new handguns will be approved for sale in the state and until the California Attorney General can certify that the microstamping technology is free of patent restrictions and available to all firearms manufacturers.
• It appears that Illinois is the first state to introduce a proposal to require handgun microstamping technology so far this year.