Last week California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law a pair of bills that will ban traditional ammunition and require firearms sold in California to include a patented, sole-sourced technology known as firearms microstamping. (Microstamping is a process by which a firearm's make, model and serial number are micro-laser engraved on the tip of the firing pin so, in theory, that information would be imprinted on any cartridge casing fired in the gun.)

The first bill was pushed through at the behest of anti-hunting groups that claim that lead ammo endangers California condors that feed on carrion. The second bill is supported by anti-gun groups who are trying, by any means at their disposal, to hobble the rights of gun owners.

What is so infuriating about the microstamping legislation is that the governor ignored a state-funded study by the University of California at Davis (hardly a bastion of pro-gunners) that called firearms microstamping a “flawed” technology. The study went on to state, “At the current time it is not recommended that a mandate for implementation of this technology in all semiautomatic handguns in the state of California be made. Further testing, analysis and evaluation is required.”