California bill would increase cost of law enforcement weapons

A bill introduced Tuesday in the California General Assembly would remove an exemption for handguns used by police officers from an existing law requiring microstamping, increasing the cost of law enforcement weapons that would eventually be paid by taxpayers.

Microstamping is a ballistics identification technology in which microscopic markings are engraved inside a weapon using a laser. When the gun is fired, the markings are imprinted onto the cartridge case head. Proponents say the unique markings can be used by law enforcement when they recover shell casings at a crime scene by entering the information into a database to trace the last registered owner.