The Supreme Court of California upheld a micro-stamping requirement for semiautomatic handguns Thursday — even though the technology does not exist to allow manufacturers to comply.

The Associated Press summed up the court’s ruling: “The California Supreme Court says state laws cannot be invalidated on the grounds that complying with them is impossible.”

The microstamping requirement, or “bullet stamping law,” as it is sometimes called. Requires that semiautomatic handguns sold in California have a special, one-of-kind marker affixed to their firing pins so a special fingerprint is left on each spent shell casing.
The idea is to give law enforcement a means to take shell casings from a crime scene and trace them back to the firearm’s owner.
Many problems exist with this proposed scenario. First, the technology does not exist. No manufacturer who is importing guns into California makes a firearm that puts a special mark on spent shell casings.