Members of Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees MUST Hear Your Opposition to Three Anti-Gun Bills
Three anti-gun bills are expected to be heard in the Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees this Thursday, August 14 or Friday, August 15. It is CRITICAL that EVERY gun owner, sportsman and Second Amendment supporter in California call AND e-mail members of the Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees urging them to OPPOSE SB 580, SB 808 and AB 1014. Tell state legislators that criminals do not respect or obey current firearm laws and they will simply ignore any new firearm laws, so let’s try a new strategy and protect law-abiding gun owners.
Contact information for members of the Senate Appropriations Committee can be found here. Contact information for members of the Assembly Appropriations Committee can be found here.
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Anti-Gun Bill to be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee this Thursday, August 14 or Friday, August 15:
Assembly Bill 1014 would allow law enforcement officers to acquire an "emergency gun violence restraining order" against any person by showing only "reasonable cause" that the person is dangerous. Additionally, the bill would allow an “immediate family member” of an individual or a law enforcement officer to petition to have a “gun violence restraining order” issued against an individual. Notably these provisions would prohibit a “dangerous” person from possessing firearms, but would do nothing to help treat the cause of the person’s condition. Current law already provides a mechanism for committing dangerous persons in an emergency situation, which already results in the committed person being prohibited from possessing firearms. This bill's low evidentiary standards and lack of a mechanism for individuals to present their own defense before being deprived of their constitutional rights fail to meet American standards for due process of law. Just as restraining orders are abused in other contexts, the proposed "gun violence restraining orders" can be easily abused and issued in cases where officers lack sufficient evidence for an arrest, but wish to deprive an individual of their right to bear arms. We all know how hard it is to get something back or even corrected after the government seizes it, so it's important for gun owners to have the opportunity to put on their own defense before losing their Second Amendment rights.
Anti-Gun Bills to be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee this Thursday, August 14 or Friday, August 15:
Senate Bill 580 would divert millions of dollars from the “Firearms Safety and Enforcement Fee” (FSE Fee) to fund general law enforcement activities (such as performing law enforcement “contacts” based on the Armed Prohibited Persons System [APPS]), even though only a minuscule portion of legal firearm purchasers actually end up in that system. The original purpose of the FSE Fee was to provide funding for training, testing, and other costs directly related to the implementation of the Handgun Safety Certificate program.
Again, the state Department of Justice (DOJ) is raiding gun owner funds to pay for their programs. In the last three years, approximately $30 million was appropriated from the Dealers’ Record of Sale Special Account (DROS Fund) for use in APPS and APPS-related law enforcement activities. Though exact expenditure figures are not available to the public, there is likely at least $15 million dollars left to be spent from that appropriation. Why does DOJ need more money?
Senate Bill 808 would make it a crime under California law for an individual to manufacture a firearm without first obtaining California Department of Justice approval to do so and subsequently engraving a DOJ-provided serial number on the firearm. Recently, this legislation was amended to also target 3D printed firearms by requiring exactly 3.7 ounces of 17-4 PH stainless steel to be included in any firearm “manufactured or assembled from polymer plastic.” Federal law already requires all firearms in the United States be detectable by magnetometer or x-ray screening, so it’s unclear why 3.7 ounces of a very specific and expensive steel must be included in every firearm that individuals make for personal use. This legislation should be opposed because it will effectively nullify the long-standing and constitutionally protected activity of building one’s own firearms. Additionally, SB 808 will promote the destruction and devaluation of existing firearms without any tangible public safety benefit.
ALSO, please call AND e-mail your state Senator and Assemblyman to OPPOSE the following bills on the Senate and Assembly floor.
On the Assembly floor:
On the Senate floor:
To read more about the bills above, please click here.
The 2014 legislative session is expected to adjourn at the end of this month, so this legislation will move quickly. You must move even quicker to spread the word to your family, friends, fellow gun owners and sportsmen in California urging them to call AND e-mail their state Senator and Assemblyman to OPPOSE the anti-gun bills above.
