Columnists
09/30/2026 · Concord
The Three-Second Pause That Protects Your Day
Before you answer that text, accept that favor, or volunteer for one more thing, try a tiny pause. It can keep an automatic “sure” from becoming an afternoon of resentment.
The Trick That Makes Shakespeare’s Summer Last Forever
Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” begins as a compliment and ends as a dare to time itself. Its secret is not that summer is beautiful—it’s that summer is unreliable.
09/28/2026
The Most Radical Kind of Help Is Paying Attention
Simone Weil’s famous line about attention is often served as a gentler synonym for focus. It is stranger—and more useful—than that: she believed attention was a form of moral generosity.
09/28/2026
Washington’s Loudest Week Has a Quiet Bill
The White House keeps selling speed, Congress keeps selling certainty, and households keep paying for the gap between them. The week’s biggest story sits where tariffs, budget cuts, and shaky consumer confidence meet.
09/28/2026
The Giant Van Gogh Screensaver Has Gone Too Far
I have nothing against Van Gogh. I have something against being trapped inside a screensaver while a DJ whispers about “healing.” The immersive art craze deserves a little less reverence and a lot more fluorescent lighting.
09/28/2026
Lanesboro, Minnesota: The Bike Trail Town That Forgot to Be Boring
Follow the Root River into southeastern Minnesota for limestone bluffs, a walkable main street, and a breakfast plate that justifies the entire drive. Lanesboro is small enough to understand in one afternoon and strange enough to keep you poking around until dinner.
09/30/2026
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Announcements
View allRoster of Approved Firearms Safety Devices
Roster of Firearm Safety Devices Certified for Sale | State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General Skip to main content Roster of Firearm Safety Devices Certified for Sale Home Firearms Roster of Firearm Safety Devices Certified for Sale Recall Notices & Information October 19, 2023 - Information Regarding Nationwide Recall of Six Lock Boxes and One Safe on California’s Roster of Firearm Safety Devices Announced by U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission February 22, 2024 - Information Regarding Nationwide Recall of Three Lock Boxes on California’s Roster of Firearm Safety Devices announced by U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission June 27, 2024 - Information regarding nationwide recall of one lock box and one safe on California’s Roster of Firearm Safety Devices announced by U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission As of January 1, 2002, no firearm may be sold, transferred, or manufactured within California unless that firearm is accompanied by a DOJ-approved firearms safety device (California Penal Code section 23620, et seq). To search for Firearm Safety Devices certified for sale, click on the following: Search for a Safety Device Find Safety Devices Compatible with your Firearm The safety device requirement does not apply to the following: Persons who can demonstrate the purchase of a DOJ-approved safety device in the 30 days prior to taking possession of the firearm by presenting the device to the firearms dealer and providing the firearms dealer with a receipt showing the purchase date and model name of the device. The commerce of any firearm defined as an "antique firearm" pursuant to federal law. The commerce of any firearm intended to be used by a salaried, full-time peace officer for law enforcement purposes. Transfers of firearms to persons who demonstrate ownership of a qualifying gun safe. Ownership may be demonstrated by displaying to the firearms dealer: 1) A receipt indicating purchase of, or an affidavit, signed under penalty of perjury, stating that the purchaser owns a gun safe, and 2) An affidavit, signed under penalty of perjury, stating that the gun safe meets the standards set forth in DOJ regulations. Additional information on Safety Devices and Firearms Manufacturers. Firearms Safety Device Compatibility Chart Report of Descriptions and Devices Recently Added Handgun Models Find Safety Devices Compatible with your Firearm
AB 28: Certificate of Registration
Assembly Bill 28 (AB 28) Commencing July 1, 2024, Assembly Bill 28 (AB 28), which was signed into law on September 26, 2023, requires all firearms dealers and ammunition vendors to obtain a Certificate of Registration with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA). This Certificate of Registration requirement also applies to any federally licensed firearm manufacturer that engages in the retail sale of any firearms in California, including firearm precursor parts. There is no fee for this Firearm and Ammunition Excise Tax (FET) Certificate of Registration. The FET Certificate of Registration requirement is in addition to the existing requirement that firearms dealers and ammunition vendors maintain a valid seller’s permit, and that firearms manufacturers maintain a valid seller’s permit or resale certificate. Additionally, AB 28 states that the Department of Justice may revoke any ammunition vendor license or remove any firearms dealer or firearms manufacturer from any centralized list upon notification from CDTFA that CDTFA revoked the licensee’s certificate of registration or revoked or suspended the licensee’s seller’s permit. This webpage is intended to highlight only a few aspects of AB 28. Please review AB 28—including sections 36035 and 36036 of the Revenue and Taxation Code and sections 26700, 26705, and 30395 of the Penal Code—for further details, requirements, and relevant information. For information on obtaining the FET Certificate of Registration, seller’s permit, or resale certificate, you may visit the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration website at www.cdtfa.ca.gov and CDTFA’s “Tax Guide for Sellers of Firearm and Ammunition Products” website at www.cdtfa.ca.gov/industry/sellers-of-firearm-and-ammunition-products/. Should you have any other questions, please contact the Bureau of Firearms, Centralized List Unit at 916-210-2750 or via email at [email protected].
SB 452: Microstamping
Senate Bill (SB) 452, which was signed into law on September 26, 2023, amended California’s Unsafe Handgun Act by removing the microstamping requirement from Penal Code section 31910 and adding, under separate Penal Code provisions, new requirements related to microstamping components (specifically, sections 27531, 27532, 27533, 27534.1 and 27534.2). As detailed further below, this law provides a series of staggered implementation requirements for the California Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the technological viability of microstamping components, develop performance standards and licensing processes for entities that produce those components, and assess the commercial availability of microstamping components or microstamping-enabled firearms. It also provides a conditional mandate related to microstamping components in semiautomatic pistols sold or transferred in the state. Commencing January 1, 2028, this law will require licensed firearms dealers to ensure that semiautomatic pistols sold, offered for sale, exchanged, given, transferred, or delivered by those dealers in California are certified as “microstamping-enabled” by the pistol’s manufacturer, a licensed firearms dealer, or a gunsmith that serviced the pistol by installing a qualifying microstamping component (Pen. Code § 27533 and § 27531(c)). This requirement would apply to any semiautomatic pistol manufactured or delivered to a firearms dealer on or after January 1, 2028. However, this requirement takes effect only if DOJ has first made two separate determinations regarding: (1) the technological viability of microstamping components; and (2) the commercial availability of microstamping components and/or microstamping-enabled firearms. Technological Viability of Microstamping Components For the first of these determinations, SB 452 requires DOJ to “engage in an investigation to determine the technological viability of microstamping components producing microstamps on spent cartridge casings discharged by a firearm into which the microstamping component has been installed,” which includes soliciting input from relevant stakeholders (Pen. Code §27532(a)). On July 18, 2025, DOJ released a report finding that it is technologically viable for microstamping components (engraved firing pins) to imprint a unique microscopic array of characters, referred to as a “microstamp,” on spent cartridge cases discharged by a firearm into which the microstamping component has been installed. Commercial Availability of Microstamping Components Once DOJ has made a finding that microstamping components are technologically viable, it is required to: By September 1, 2025, provide “written guidance on performance standards for persons, associations, partnerships, corporations, or other entities engaged in the business of producing microstamping components.” (Pen. Code § 27532(b).) Those performance standards can be found in the California Code of Regulations, Title 11, Division 5, Chapter 16, Sections 4600-4601. By January 1, 2026, commence accepting applications for licenses for entities that produce microstamping components that meet DOJ’s performance standards. Entities seeking a license to produce microstamping components must submit samples to a DOJ-Certified Lab which will evaluate and conduct the testing of the semiautomatic pistol with the microstamping component pursuant to the standards outlined in California Code of Regulations, Title 11, Division 5, Chapter 16, Sections 4600-4601. Once the DOJ-Certified Lab has tested the microstamping components, it must submit BOF Form 130 Microstamping Performance Report to DOJ to evaluate whether the microstamping component meets the performance standards. BOF Form 130 will be accepted by email at [email protected]. These requirements are set forth in California Code of Regulations, Title 11, Division 5, Chapter 16, Section 4602. By July 1, 2026, DOJ must provide grants or enter into contracts with one or more entities licensed to produce microstamping components that meet DOJ’s performance standards to make those microstamping components available for sale or other distribution at a reasonable cost to firearm manufacturers, licensed firearms dealers, and gunsmiths engaged in the business of installing microstamping components in California. (Pen. Code § 27532(d).) By July 1, 2027, DOJ must determine: (1) whether microstamping components are available at commercially reasonable prices from licensees producing microstamping components, and (2) whether “options of microstamping-enabled firearms are readily available for purchase” in California. (Pen. Code § 27532(e).) Once DOJ determines that either or both of these criteria are met, DOJ must publish a list of all licensees producing microstamping components that meet the microstamping performance standards and “shall notify licensed firearms dealers, gunsmiths, and manufacturers operating within the State of California of the list of available microstamping component producers.” (Pen. Code § 27532(f).) Definitions of Key Terms can be found in Pen. Code § 27531. Additional Information: Attorney General Bonta Releases Report, Finds Firearm Microstamping Technology Viable Microstamping Technological Viability Report 2025 BOF 130 - Microstamping Performance Report California Code of Regulations
Public Notices
View allRoster of Approved Firearms Safety Devices
Other - 09/25/2026
Information on the Law Enforcement Release Program
Other - 09/24/2026
Public Rights Division, Section Descriptions
Zoning - 09/24/2026
Ammunition Purchase Authorization Program
Other - 09/24/2026
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