California lawmakers have improved things for all law-abiding citizens by the recent passage of the Gun Crime Identification Act, requiring makers of semi-automatic weapons in the state to equip their products with a device that will stamp the weapon's make, model and serial number on each shell casing ejected when it is fired.
Brass casings at crime scenes such as drive by shootings will essentially be calling cards, helping police find the perpetrators by at least being able to trace the weapon used to its last legal owner. Its a good start. Pennsylvania should follow suit.
The next law should be one help to identify the weapon's owner by the unique markings left on the actual projectile, not just the spent casing, a process that has been used by investigators for decades. It would require the manufacturer to fire the weapon, retain the bullet and a detailed digital photographic record of the marks made on it during its trip though the barrel. That information, along with its make, model, and serial number, could then be distributed to law enforcement agencies via a database similar to the one used for fingerprints, so that with just a bullet taken from the crime scene, if the markings are intact, an investigator could again trace the weapon used to its last legal owner.
California is ahead of the curve in many things American, they've done it again.