Getting to the Bottom of California’s Microstamping Mandate

Dave Workman, who’s written for California Sportsman and does a regular column in our sister publications, weighed in on the ongoing issue in the state regarding California’s new law mandating microstamping in all semiautomatic handgun models. Ruger CEO Michael O. Fifer and Smith & Wesson president and CEO James Debney both made statements in federal court this week.

We’ll let Workman tell you more:

Both Ruger and S&W confirmed several days ago that they will not be microstamping handgun models as required by the California law, which was signed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger but takes full effect this year. In statements submitted to the court in support of the SAF lawsuit both gun company CEOs were critical of the technology.

In his statement, Fifer bluntly observed, “There is no workable microstamping technology today, and Ruger believes that California’s microstamping regulations make compliance impossible.”

Debney concurs in his statement, noting, “Smith & Wesson does not believe it is possible currently to comply with California’s microstamping regulations. Quite simply, the state law requires the technology to perform at a level that it cannot.”