Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) has introduced Assembly Bill 395–a measure intended to repeal the statewide lead ammunition ban signed by Governor Jerry Brown in October 2013. And while the repeal has support in rural areas, the San Francisco Chronicle notes that it will have to win support in California’s large cities if it is to pass.
The lead ammo ban, which is a ban on traditional hunting ammunition, is scheduled to start phasing gradually in on July 1. By 2019, an all-out “mandate” against lead ammo will be in place.
Gallagher’s bill would stop this, but the Chronicle points to the distribution of California’s population as proof that the repeal cannot pass without winning over voters in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other places where hunting is not even an option.
The Chronicle points to the passage of Proposition 197 in 1996 to prove this. That ballot initiative removed special protections on mountain lions so they could be hunted in order to stop attacks on livestock and domestic animals. It won in 38 of California’s 58 counties, but the 38 counties were rural, so the proposition was actually defeated.
People who rarely, if ever, see a mountain lion were able to decide how those who live with the threat of mountain lions could respond.
In the same way, the Chronicle suggests the push to reverse the lead ammo ban will ultimately be decided by non-hunters who live in a city.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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