Microstamping

Microstamping is a technology in which the gun’s firing pin imprints each fired cartridge with a unique microscopic identifying code.  This is touted as a tough on crime measure.

Maybe not.

In 2023, California passed a law requiring microstamping of firearms, once it becomes feasible. California’s Department of Justice (DOJ) studied its feasibility and, this year, issued a report saying that it’s viable.

One of the many problems with microstamping is that the firing pin coding wears down after multiple uses.  But California’s DOJ’s report says it won’t wear down, even after thousands of rounds are fired.  Of course, most of the studies the DOJ relied on came from companies that stand to profit from selling microstamping components. 

By January 2026, companies can start applying for licenses to produce the microstamping parts and by mid-2026, California will begin signing contracts with them. On January 1, 2028, only pistols equipped with these components will be allowed to be sold in California.

First, what if the studies that California’s DOJ has relied upon turn out to be wrong, as we suspect?

Second, lawful gun owners have no reason to file-down or otherwise destroy the imprint but criminals would certainly do that.  So, if this will only impact law-abiding owners, is it really a crime prevention issue? But the lie of microstamping being tough on crime will still be trumpeted by the left-wing media. 

Attorney William Kirk recently made some interesting observations about this.

If only California was to require this, the cost and complexity of retooling every pistol model with unique microstamping components might make it unprofitable for most manufacturers. “You are not going to go through the expense of producing unique firing pins just for one state,” Kirk said. Would most manufacturers stop selling pistols in California, leaving very few models available?  Is that, in fact, the real purpose of this law?

Adding a unique firing pin to every single handgun line, just for California, does not make business sense. But what happens when the same requirement pops up in other states?  If other states follow suit, how many states must require it in order to make the retooling worthwhile?

California will have full control over which brands and models get approved.  An anti-gun state government will be picking winners and losers in the retail gun market.  What could go wrong? 

It will be a bureaucratic mess: reports, standards, deadlines, and licensing rules, mostly invisible to the non-gun buying public as only gun owners will feel the pain. 

The microstamping approach avoids passing handgun bans and running afoul of our 2nd Amendment freedoms, while producing the same result. Kirk described it as: “They have absolutely thwarted any reasonable opportunity you have to arm yourself with a handgun.”

New York State has had laws proposed regarding microstamping of firearms for several years.  The current versions are S02158 and A03021 and they rest in committees, but could be activated once the Democrat controlled legislature comes back in session in January.

It’s important that New Yorkers stand firm against S02158 and A03021 to protect our 2nd Amendment rights.