Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act (1989)

The Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act, authored by Senator David Roberti and Assemblymember Mike Roos, was signed by Governor George Deukmejian on May 24, 1989, in the aftermath of the Cleveland Elementary School shooting in Stockton.^[1] It was the first assault weapons ban enacted in any U.S. state.

The Named Firearms List

The Roberti-Roos Act identified assault weapons by make and model. The original list is now codified at Penal Code Section 30510 and includes rifles such as the Colt AR-15 series, all AK series weapons, the FN FAL/FN LAR, and the Heckler & Koch HK91/HK93 series, among others. Pistols on the list include the UZI, RPB Industries Inc. sM10 and sM11, and Intratec TEC-9. The complete list was later supplemented by the Kasler list, named after the Kasler v. Lockyer^[2] litigation, which upheld the Act's add-on procedure allowing superior courts, on the Attorney General's petition, to declare firearms assault weapons because of their essential similarity to listed models.

Registration Framework

Owners who lawfully possessed assault weapons on the original named list before June 1, 1989, were required to register them by January 1, 1991. A registrant may possess a registered assault weapon at their residence or place of business, on other property they own, or on another person's property with the owner's express permission. Section 30945 also permits possession at specified ranges, shooting clubs and firearm exhibitions, and on publicly owned land where the managing agency specifically permits possession and use. The weapon may be transported between the places permitted by Section 30945 or to a licensed gun dealer for servicing or repair, unloaded and in a locked container. Transfers within California must fall within a statutory exception. A dealer accepting these weapons must have a Dangerous Weapons Permit. Sections 30625 and 30630 provide exceptions for specified law enforcement agencies and authorized officers. A person obtaining title by bequest or intestate succession must, within 90 days, render the weapon permanently inoperable, sell it to a licensed gun dealer, obtain a DOJ permit, or remove it from California.

Enforcement and Penalties

Under the current statutory framework at Penal Code Section 30600, manufacturing, distributing, transporting, importing, selling, giving, or lending an assault weapon, except as provided by that chapter, is a felony punishable by four, six, or eight years under Section 1170(h).^[3] Possession of an unregistered assault weapon under Section 30605 is a wobbler offense.

Legacy and Subsequent Legislation

The named firearms list approach had an inherent limitation: manufacturers could produce functionally identical firearms under new model names to circumvent the list. SB 23, enacted in 1999, added the characteristics-based (features) test as an additional identification method. Together, the named list and the characteristics test form the two-track assault weapon identification system that remains in effect today.