For those of you who are unaware, California has doubled-down on its own failed gun policies and further eviscerated the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution. New gun bills signed & vetoed last week by California Gov. Jerry Brown:
SIGNED
#1: Possessing a semi-automatic firearm with a detachable magazine is now illegal.
What this new law means to Californians: All firearms with detachable magazines are now illegal. Residents who currently own them must register their guns into a state database, sell them out of state, or voluntarily turn them over to the government, or they will be confiscated. There is some confusion on if this is intended to include or exclude handguns. If it does, 85% of all handguns owned in California are also illegal. This overturns a previous CA law disallowing guns that feature detachable magazines which can be released with the simple touch of a button (a separate tool was required to release the magazine). Firearms manufacturers worked around this by installing a "bullet button" on rifles which allows for the tip of a bullet (the "tool") pressed through a hole in the gun's frame to activate an internal release lever, which caused the magazine to drop free from the rifle. Ownership of any of those previously-allowed "bullet button" firearms is now prohibited.
Why this is stupid: No violent criminal or terrorist is going to register his gun with the state of California. Most terrorists with mass shooting intent would never use a rifle with a bullet button. They steal their guns or buy them outside of the state and then bring them to California. Nothing in this new law prevents any of this from still happening, as those actions are already against the law.
#2: Loaning a firearm to anyone other than immediate family is severely restricted and the penalty is in the felony category.
What this new law means to Californians: In order to loan any firearm to another person in California and have it returned, one must complete two background checks, endure two 10-day waiting periods, four trips to the nearest gun shop (who knows how far that may be in rural areas), and pay two transfer fees.
Why this is stupid: Why isn't it stupid is the better question. Do California's political leaders expect this law will prevent a terrorist from loaning another terrorist a gun? They are turning law-abiding citizens into unsuspecting felons. That's all this can possibly accomplish.
#3: A 10-year firearm prohibition will be assigned to any individual who falsely reports a firearm missing or stolen. This applies to future purchases and firearms currently owned, which would be confiscated.
What this new law means to Californians: Reporting of firearms as lost or stolen is a common approach used to avoid gun registries. No one anywhere believes it shouldn't be punishable. It is a misdemeanor already in California, and most states have a similar statute.
Why this is stupid: It's unconstitutional to take away an inalienable right, protected by the US Constitution, for a non-violent, misdemeanor offense. Felonies, yes. Misdemeanors which result in at least a year of imprisonment, yes. Domestic violence misdemeanor convicts, yes. Those are restrictions already in place at the federal level. There is no way this law stands up to the legal strict scrutiny it's certain to face.
#4: Possession of a firearm magazine designed to hold >10 rounds is a felony.
What this new law means to Californians: Any firearm magazine designed to hold >10 rounds will be confiscated if not sold or gifted to a non-Californian or voluntarily turned over to the government. Previously, Cali residents were prohibited from buying standard capacity magazines, however, any standard capacity magazines already owned could be registered and grandfathered in under that law. This new law eliminates that grandfather clause and Californians can now possess only low-capacity magazines.
Why this is stupid: It's a piece of plastic with a spring inside of it, and violent criminals and terrorists can still obtain them in numerous ways, including crossing into another state like NV or AZ and buying it at the nearest Wal-Mart. Meanwhile, sport shooters can no longer participate in 3-Gun events and Californians will have the unfair financial burden of replacing all their standard capacity magazines with low-capacity magazines.
#5: An ammunition buyer registry will be created and maintained by state authorities. Online purchase of ammunition is prohibited. Buyers must have state government approval before making any ammunition purchase. Every ammunition purchase transaction requires a federal background check, and all transactions must be recorded in the state's ammunition buyer database.
What this new law means to Californians: Big Brother is watching you. Californians can no longer buy any amount of ammunition, even a single, 25-rd box of shotgun shells, without sharing their ID, undergoing a federal background check, and submitting the transaction info to the state government's ammunition buyer registry.
Why this is stupid: The federal NICS (background check system) is frequently overwhelmed. I get a "HOLD" response at least 25% of the time I buy a firearm. So what happens then? 3-5 days later it finally goes through fine and I have to drive back to the gun shop to pick up my new gun. Adding ammunition purchases in the union's most populated state will only serve to bog it down further, and that means multiple trips to the store to simply buy ammunition. If the nearest place a Californian can purchase ammo is 45 minutes from his house, that's three hours on the road just to buy a box of shotshells for his barn shotgun; which IMO constitutes an undue burden on a law-abiding citizen. Terrorists and violent criminals will still buy from a Wal-Mart in a neighboring state.
VETOED GUN BILLS
#1: Would have required gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms to local authorities within 5 days of the occurrence. Gov. Brown explained that "Responsible gun owners would already do this, so the law is unnecessary." I'm not shitting you, he actually said that after he signed all of the above.
#2: Would have made it a felony gun offense to possess unfinished, metal objects which could potentially be machined into gun parts. Laughable.
#3: Would have restricted Californians from purchasing more than one gun per month. Obviously, that is completely dismantling the 2nd Amendment, and, therefore, unconstitutional.
#4: Would have expanded the categories of individuals eligible to arbitrarily restrict the gun rights of another individual. Currently, immediate family and mental health workers can make an off-the-record request and do not have to meet any specific burden of proof to obtain an order for all guns to be confiscated from another California resident. This law would have added teachers, co-workers, and extended family to the list. This is all bullshit and is readily manipulated. Even under false accusation, the process to get one's guns returned is burdensome and takes 4-6 months.
#5: STILL PENDING on the governor's desk - Requirement to register all home-built firearms. What criminal would do this? None of them, of course.
As you might imagine, gun owners in California are going apeshit. Missourians should thank our lucky stars that we've got state constitutional protections, approved at the ballot box, which prevent any laws like this from ever being enacted in our great state. Having a supermajority of pro-2A legislators in both chambers of the state legislature isn't good enough because that can change in the instant one of them dies in a car accident or fux his high school intern. Many local liberals wondered aloud why we needed Amendment 5 in Missouri when we already have the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution. Now you know. It will take years to undo what's been done this past week in California.
The good news is that online auction and classified ad websites will be flooded with quality firearms and accessories being sold by Californians looking to unload them.
SIGNED
#1: Possessing a semi-automatic firearm with a detachable magazine is now illegal.
What this new law means to Californians: All firearms with detachable magazines are now illegal. Residents who currently own them must register their guns into a state database, sell them out of state, or voluntarily turn them over to the government, or they will be confiscated. There is some confusion on if this is intended to include or exclude handguns. If it does, 85% of all handguns owned in California are also illegal. This overturns a previous CA law disallowing guns that feature detachable magazines which can be released with the simple touch of a button (a separate tool was required to release the magazine). Firearms manufacturers worked around this by installing a "bullet button" on rifles which allows for the tip of a bullet (the "tool") pressed through a hole in the gun's frame to activate an internal release lever, which caused the magazine to drop free from the rifle. Ownership of any of those previously-allowed "bullet button" firearms is now prohibited.
Why this is stupid: No violent criminal or terrorist is going to register his gun with the state of California. Most terrorists with mass shooting intent would never use a rifle with a bullet button. They steal their guns or buy them outside of the state and then bring them to California. Nothing in this new law prevents any of this from still happening, as those actions are already against the law.
#2: Loaning a firearm to anyone other than immediate family is severely restricted and the penalty is in the felony category.
What this new law means to Californians: In order to loan any firearm to another person in California and have it returned, one must complete two background checks, endure two 10-day waiting periods, four trips to the nearest gun shop (who knows how far that may be in rural areas), and pay two transfer fees.
Why this is stupid: Why isn't it stupid is the better question. Do California's political leaders expect this law will prevent a terrorist from loaning another terrorist a gun? They are turning law-abiding citizens into unsuspecting felons. That's all this can possibly accomplish.
#3: A 10-year firearm prohibition will be assigned to any individual who falsely reports a firearm missing or stolen. This applies to future purchases and firearms currently owned, which would be confiscated.
What this new law means to Californians: Reporting of firearms as lost or stolen is a common approach used to avoid gun registries. No one anywhere believes it shouldn't be punishable. It is a misdemeanor already in California, and most states have a similar statute.
Why this is stupid: It's unconstitutional to take away an inalienable right, protected by the US Constitution, for a non-violent, misdemeanor offense. Felonies, yes. Misdemeanors which result in at least a year of imprisonment, yes. Domestic violence misdemeanor convicts, yes. Those are restrictions already in place at the federal level. There is no way this law stands up to the legal strict scrutiny it's certain to face.
#4: Possession of a firearm magazine designed to hold >10 rounds is a felony.
What this new law means to Californians: Any firearm magazine designed to hold >10 rounds will be confiscated if not sold or gifted to a non-Californian or voluntarily turned over to the government. Previously, Cali residents were prohibited from buying standard capacity magazines, however, any standard capacity magazines already owned could be registered and grandfathered in under that law. This new law eliminates that grandfather clause and Californians can now possess only low-capacity magazines.
Why this is stupid: It's a piece of plastic with a spring inside of it, and violent criminals and terrorists can still obtain them in numerous ways, including crossing into another state like NV or AZ and buying it at the nearest Wal-Mart. Meanwhile, sport shooters can no longer participate in 3-Gun events and Californians will have the unfair financial burden of replacing all their standard capacity magazines with low-capacity magazines.
#5: An ammunition buyer registry will be created and maintained by state authorities. Online purchase of ammunition is prohibited. Buyers must have state government approval before making any ammunition purchase. Every ammunition purchase transaction requires a federal background check, and all transactions must be recorded in the state's ammunition buyer database.
What this new law means to Californians: Big Brother is watching you. Californians can no longer buy any amount of ammunition, even a single, 25-rd box of shotgun shells, without sharing their ID, undergoing a federal background check, and submitting the transaction info to the state government's ammunition buyer registry.
Why this is stupid: The federal NICS (background check system) is frequently overwhelmed. I get a "HOLD" response at least 25% of the time I buy a firearm. So what happens then? 3-5 days later it finally goes through fine and I have to drive back to the gun shop to pick up my new gun. Adding ammunition purchases in the union's most populated state will only serve to bog it down further, and that means multiple trips to the store to simply buy ammunition. If the nearest place a Californian can purchase ammo is 45 minutes from his house, that's three hours on the road just to buy a box of shotshells for his barn shotgun; which IMO constitutes an undue burden on a law-abiding citizen. Terrorists and violent criminals will still buy from a Wal-Mart in a neighboring state.
VETOED GUN BILLS
#1: Would have required gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms to local authorities within 5 days of the occurrence. Gov. Brown explained that "Responsible gun owners would already do this, so the law is unnecessary." I'm not shitting you, he actually said that after he signed all of the above.
#2: Would have made it a felony gun offense to possess unfinished, metal objects which could potentially be machined into gun parts. Laughable.
#3: Would have restricted Californians from purchasing more than one gun per month. Obviously, that is completely dismantling the 2nd Amendment, and, therefore, unconstitutional.
#4: Would have expanded the categories of individuals eligible to arbitrarily restrict the gun rights of another individual. Currently, immediate family and mental health workers can make an off-the-record request and do not have to meet any specific burden of proof to obtain an order for all guns to be confiscated from another California resident. This law would have added teachers, co-workers, and extended family to the list. This is all bullshit and is readily manipulated. Even under false accusation, the process to get one's guns returned is burdensome and takes 4-6 months.
#5: STILL PENDING on the governor's desk - Requirement to register all home-built firearms. What criminal would do this? None of them, of course.
As you might imagine, gun owners in California are going apeshit. Missourians should thank our lucky stars that we've got state constitutional protections, approved at the ballot box, which prevent any laws like this from ever being enacted in our great state. Having a supermajority of pro-2A legislators in both chambers of the state legislature isn't good enough because that can change in the instant one of them dies in a car accident or fux his high school intern. Many local liberals wondered aloud why we needed Amendment 5 in Missouri when we already have the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution. Now you know. It will take years to undo what's been done this past week in California.
The good news is that online auction and classified ad websites will be flooded with quality firearms and accessories being sold by Californians looking to unload them.
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