Beginning January 1st, all handguns sold in the People's Republic of California must contain certain "safety" features. Pistols firing rimfire cartridges must have both a magazine disconnect mechanism to prevent them from being fired AND a loaded chamber indicator. Pistols firing centerfire cartridges must have one or the other, until 2007 when they must have both.

The law was championed by state Sen. Jack Scott, a Democrat whose son was tragically shot to death by a friend.

Adam Scott, a 27-year-old law school graduate, died in October 1993 while attending a Los Angeles party with friends. The host showed off a gun that accidentally fired.

Guns don't just "accidentally" fire. People "accidentally" pull the trigger.

Jack Scott's Senate Bill 489 - a 2003 bill that takes effect Sunday - is touted by gun-control groups as first-of-its-kind legislation. It targets a specific kind of accidental shooting, involving a single unspent round fired from a handgun thought to be unloaded.

That's not an accident, it's negligence. Thinking a gun is unloaded isn't good enough. You've got to treat it as loaded until you PROVE otherwise. It's one of the four basic gun safety rules.

Of course laws like this aren't about saving lives, they're about making guns more expensive and more difficult to manufacture and sell. Whats more this law wouldn't even have saved the life of the guy who inspired it.

Adam Scott was killed by a shotgun, not a pistol, so the devices required by SB 489 would not have saved his life.

There are four basic gun safety rules.

- Assume every gun is loaded and treat it as such. Never assume a gun is unloaded. Always pull the magazine and then check the chamber to prove that it's unloaded.

- Always point the muzzle in a safe direction, even if it's not loaded. This is about good gun ettiquette. You want to create a habit of never pointing a gun at anything other than the target.

- Keep your finger off the trigger. Modern guns don't just "go off". So-called "accidents" happen mainly because the first thing people do when they pick up a gun is put their finger on the trigger.

- Be sure of your target. Never point a gun at anything you don't want to destroy, and be sure you know what lies in front of and behind your target.

Some people combine numbers 2 and 4 and just have the three basic rules. Regardless, had Scott's shooter not violated all of the rules Scott would still be alive today. Hell if he obeys any one of them: keeps his finger off the trigger, keeps it pointed in a safe direction, or makes sure it's unloaded; Scott would still be alive today.