California would ban the sale of all semi-automatic rifles that accept removable magazines, slap a hefty tax on ammo, and require every gun owner to take a yearly safety course under a new package of firearms laws that would give the Golden State the nation’s strongest gun controls.

These and many other proposed firearms laws were announced late last week by leading state Democrats and the mayors of San Francisco and Los Angeles. Many of the laws are expected to pass, in part because the Democratic Party in California now controls the Governor’s mansion and a super-majority in the state legislature.

“As it is with many issues, California is out front on firearms regulations,” said Mark Hedlund, a spokesman for California Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg. “We don’t represent the NRA. We don’t think that the NRA represents the majority of Californians, by a long shot.”

California’s newly proposed gun laws would:

Ban the possession of ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds
Prevent the future sale, purchase, manufacture, importation, or transfer of any firearms that can accept detachable magazines
Close the “bullet button” loophole by banning tools that allow the quick changing of gun magazines
Regulate ammunition sales like the state regulates gun sales. Ammunition dealers would need to be licensed and anyone buying from them would need to obtain a permit and complete a background check.
Create a 5-cent tax on each bullet purchased, for the purpose of funding crime prevention
Prevent felons and other adults barred from gun ownership from living in a house that contains any guns
Prohibit the loaning or sale of a firearm between people who know each other personally
Take steps to phase out legal possession of assault weapons that were purchased before California outlawed their sale
Require all firearms owners to take an hours-long gun safety course every year, similar to what the state now requires for obtaining a concealed weapon permit
Require gun owners to purchase insurance to cover damage they may inflict
Require CalPERS and CalSTRS, two of the nation’s largest pension funds, to divest from companies that make, sell, or market firearms or ammunition

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