News
Cal-FLL's Legislative Update - 5-10-13
This update will provide you a thumbnail sketch of what is happening with key gun legislation in California. For more detailed information, follow the links provided.
UPCOMING BILLS
AB 231 (Ting)- Makes it a crime if a child gets access to an unlocked firearm. Removes the provision that the firearm must be removed from the premises.
Hearing: Assembly Floor 5/13/13 POSITION: OPPOSE
AB 232 (Ting)-Tax-payer funded gun buybacks.
Hearing: Assembly Revenue & Taxation 5/13/13 POSITION: OPPOSE
AB 180 (Bonta) - Allows the City of Oakland to institute more restrictive firearms laws than those by the state.
Hearing: Assembly Floor 5/13/13 POSITION: OPPOSE
SB 108 (Yee) - Mandatory firearm locked storage.
Hearing: Senate Floor 5/13/13 POSITION: OPPOSE
SB 299 (DeSaulnier) - Lost or stolen firearm reporting requirement.
Hearing: Senate Floor 5/13/13 POSITION: OPPOSE
SB 38 (De León) - 15 Day Amnesty for armed prohibited persons .
Hearing: Senate Appropriations 5/13/13 POSITION: WATCH
SB 53 (De León) - Ammunition buyer permit requirement; face-to-face ammo sales only at licensed dealers.
Hearing: Senate Appropriations 5/6/13 POSITION: OPPOSE
SB 363 (Wright) - Denies Second Amendment rights to people based on who they live with
Hearing: Senate Appropriations 5/13/13 POSITION: OPPOSE
RECENT ACTIVITY AB 180 (Bonta) -– Passed Assembly Public Safety 5-2.
NEXT HEARING: Assembly Floor DATE: 5/13/13
POSITION: OPPOSE
NEWS & NOTES
This Week in California Gun Rights: 4-26-13 Edition
FIRE MISSION: Stop SB 140!
**FIRE MISSION**
Cal-FFL and the Firearms Policy Coalition are asking you to fax CA Governor Jerry Brown and urge him to VETO SB 140, a measure to steal $$ MILLIONS from gun owners and give it to the Department of Justice! Use FPC’s free TAKE ACTION form to send a fax NOW at http://www.firearmspolicy.org/the-issues/california/2013-2014/sb140.
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Chris Cheng, History Channel’s “Top Shot” Champion Endorses CalGunFight.com (Video)
Realizing the unprecedented attack attack that members of the California Legislature are waging on our Second Amendment Rights, History Channel’s “Top Shot” Champion, Chris Cheng wanted to encourage all of us to join the fight in protecting our gun rights.
Recognizing that “These troubling times call for serious leadership and a powerful defense of our rights…” Chris encourages all of us to join the fight at CalGunFight.com.
[button link="http://www.calgunsfoundation.org/2013/04/chris-cheng-history-channels-top-shot-champion-endorses-calgunfight-com/" bg_color="#c51014" border="#c51014"]Read More...[/button][hr]
Cal-FFL Legislative Update
This update will provide you a thumbnail sketch of what is happening with key gun legislation in California. For more detailed information, follow the links provided.
CALL TO ACTION!
SB 140 (Leno) - Takes millions of unconstitutionally-collected Dealer Record of Sales (DROS) funds to compensate for the failure of more than 500 local law enforcement agencies not enforcing existing gun laws. Uses DROS funds to pay for CA DOJ expansion, including raids and confiscation of weapons from those whom the State deems to be prohibited based on unreliable data from an untrustworthy list.
Currently on the Desk of the Governor Awaiting signature or veto : Send an email asking him to VETO SB 140! CLICK HERE to TAKE ACTION NOW!
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Newslink: Dear Gun Control Democrats: 6 Ways to Make a Better Argument
Dear Gun Control Democrats:
It’s been less than a week since national gun control in America died. No “assault weapons” ban. No “high-capacity” magazine ban. Not even the Manchin-Toomey background check compromise that, according to Senator Mark Kirk, was reached by getting drunk on a 54-foot mega-yacht named Black Tie, which is part-owned by Manchin.
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This Week in California Gun Rights: 4-19-13 Edition
The Reality of Gun Shows – Not the Arms Haven for Criminals Claimed By Some
In a viral video of a Portland, Oregon Lincoln Day dinner address to promote the recently-released Manchin-Toomey ”Public Safety And Second Amendment Rights Protection Act” background check bill, Mr. Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, made a number of curious remarks, including this one about gun shows:
“I can’t justify morally, that a person who walks into a gun show, buys a gun from somebody, without getting his name, the guy can hardly speak English, and walk through the door with that firearm, with no check, nothing at all. It goes on every day at every gun show.”
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California Gun Owners Have Reason to be Hopeful — and Proud
The California Senate Public Safety Committee passed a number of extreme anti-gun measures, ranging from outright bans on guns and magazines, to ammunition seller and purchaser permits, to a “kick-the-can” bill granting municipalities the authority to ban gun shows on state property.
While the outcomes of those votes were as predictable as they are frustrating, California gun owners walked away with one significant victory: absolute solidarity among those on our side.
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Cal-FFL Legislative Update
This update will provide you a thumbnail sketch of what is happening with key gun legislation in California. For more detailed information, follow the links provided.
CALL TO ACTION!
SB 140 (Leno) - Takes millions of unconstitutionally-collected Dealer Record of Sales (DROS) funds to compensate for the failure of more than 500 local law enforcement agencies not enforcing existing gun laws. Uses DROS funds to pay for CA DOJ expansion, including raids and confiscation of weapons from those whom the State deems to be prohibited based on unreliable data from an untrustworthy list.
Will be heard on the SENATE FLOOR either MONDAY, APRIL 22ND or THURSDAY, APRIL 25TH : Send an email NOW! CLICK HERE to TAKE ACTION NOW!
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California Gun Groups Stand United in Their Opposition to SB 374 (Video)
California gun rights groups came together this week in an unprecedented fashion to oppose the California State Senate’s all out attack on the Second Amendment Rights of Californians. Here is just a small sample of their full throated, passionate defense before the Public Safety Committee.
In this clip are Brandon Combs (Calguns Foundation), Craig DeLuz (Cal-FFL), Sam Parades (Gun Owners of California) and Ed Worley (NRA-ILA) arguing against Darell Steinbergs SB 374 which bans all semi-automatic rifles that accept detachable magazines.
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On Federal Background Checks
As new talk of expanding Federal background checks raises to a fevered pitch in the US Senate, we think it’s important to go into some detail on CGF’s position.
Some of the debate is moot for those of us in California as we are forced through expensive and duplicative background checks and waiting periods on virtually every firearms transfer. CGF is suing to overturn waiting periods for people the State already knows aren’t prohibited and already own guns. We’re also suing to stop the State from delaying valid purchases by those who aren’t prohibited because the State’s background check database is incomplete.
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This Week in California Gun Rights: 4-12-13 Edition
The Calguns Foundation, 7 Californians Sue Attorney General Kamala Harris, DOJ Over Gun Delays
The Calguns Foundation has filed a lawsuit on behalf of seven California residents today against Attorney General Kamala Harris, the California Department of Justice, and DOJ Bureau of Firearms Chief Stephen Lindley. The case challenges the DOJ’s policy of requiring some firearm purchasers to prove their legal standing to take possession of acquired firearms and forcing them to wait beyond the statutory 10-day waiting period.
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Republican lawmakers call for audit of gun registration fund
With the state about to tap a surplus from gun registration fees to increase enforcement efforts, a group of 31 Republican lawmakers called Monday for an audit of the account to determine whether gun owners are being overcharged.
The legislators said the Dealers' Record of Sale Special Account should be looked at by the state auditor to determine whether the fee is set at a rate that only covers the state's cost to conduct the required background check of the gun purchaser.
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Cal-FFL Legislative Update
This update will provide you a thumbnail sketch of what is happening with key gun legislation in California. For more detailed information, follow the links provided.
CALL TO ACTION!
SB 140 (Leno) - Takes millions of unconstitutionally-collected Dealer Record of Sales (DROS) funds to compensate for the failure of more than 500 local law enforcement agencies not enforcing existing gun laws. Uses DROS funds to pay for CA DOJ expansion, including raids and confiscation of weapons from those whom the State deems to be prohibited based on unreliable data from an untrustworthy list.
Will be heard on the ASSEMBLY FLOOR either MONDAY, APRIL 15TH or THURSDAY, APRIL 18TH : Send an email NOW! CLICK HERE to TAKE ACTION NOW!
[button link="http://www.calffl.org/2013/04/cal-ffl-legislative-update-4-12-13/" bg_color="#c51014" border="#c51014"]Read More...[/button][hr]
The Fleecing of California’s Gun Purchasers
By Craig DeLuz - Cal-FFL, Legislative Advocate
via The Flash Report
This week, the California State Assembly Appropriations Committee will be considering a measure that demonstrates the absolute worst in government incompetence and thievery. SB 140 (Leno) outright steals money from a fund entirely paid for (and supposedly dedicated to) law-abiding gun owners to fund the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) failed firearms enforcement program.
These are the folks who, earlier this year, admitted that there could be tens of thousands of individuals in possession of firearms who have been deemed prohibited from doing so.
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The Calguns Foundation, 7 Californians Sue Attorney General Kamala Harris, DOJ Over Gun Delays
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, April 12, 2013
The Calguns Foundation, 7 Californians Sue Attorney General Kamala Harris, DOJ Over Gun Delays
SAN CARLOS, CA – The Calguns Foundation has filed a lawsuit on behalf of seven California residents today against Attorney General Kamala Harris, the California Department of Justice, and DOJ Bureau of Firearms Chief Stephen Lindley. The case challenges the DOJ’s policy of requiring some firearm purchasers to prove their legal standing to take possession of acquired firearms and forcing them to wait beyond the statutory 10-day waiting period.
One plaintiff in the case, Daniel Schoepf of Long Beach, California, was denied his fundamental right to keep and bear arms for self-defense even after DOJ told him that he was legally eligible to purchase and possess firearms.
In 1984, Schoepf was detained in Los Angeles County for having two tablets in his pocket that were later discovered to be common, non-prescription pills. The detectives subsequently released Schoepf and no charges were filed. In 2006, DOJ firearms section Program Manager Steve Buford sent Schoepf a letter stating that he was eligible to purchase and possess firearms; however, in 2012, DOJ reversed that position and instructed Schoepf’s local firearms dealer to hold back delivery of Schoepf’s gun.
“I know I’m not alone in this, that DOJ is wrongly denying many Californians their Second Amendment rights just like they are mine,” said Schoepf. “I’m not a criminal and certainly not a disqualified convict but am a law abiding citizen with my Second Amendment rights fully intact. They left me no choice but to fight this injustice in court.”
“Over the past year, the DOJ has been directing California gun dealers to delay the release of firearms to people eligible to possess them – sometimes indefinitely,“ said Jason Davis, attorney for The Calguns Foundation. “The DOJ simply has no legal authority to justify their policy.”
The DOJ claims that these delays are primarily due to lack of information in their criminal history databases. In a July 2011 Los Angeles Times article, assistant attorney general Travis LeBlanc said the DOJ’s criminal records database system was “shoddy,” with the ‘guilty’, ‘not guilty’, or ‘case dismissed’ disposition information missing for about 7.7 million of the 16.4 million arrest records entered into the database over the last decade – and presumably much more for older cases.
“In essence, the DOJ is relying upon their improperly-maintained database to deny the fundamental rights of individuals,” said Gene Hoffman, Chairman of The Calguns Foundation. “That policy is entirely unacceptable and we look forward to putting an end to it.”
The attorney for plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Victor Otten, agrees.
“Our clients follow the law and so should the DOJ,” said Otten. “The DOJ is gleefully enforcing a policy that deprives my clients of their civil rights. The arrogance of the Department to think that it can abrogate the Constitution and statutory duties set by the Legislature is very unsettling.”
“This case really underscores the value of our DOJ Watch program,” said Brandon Combs, Executive Director of The Calguns Foundation. “Attorney General Harris’s hostility towards some civil rights predictably resulted in a shift away from former Attorney General Brown’s correct application of the law - and we are here to hold her accountable.”
The lawsuit is entitled Schoepf, et. al. vs. Kamala Harris, et. al. A copy of the complaint may be viewed or downloaded at http://www.calgunsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/cgf_dros-delay-complaint.pdf.
The Calguns Foundation (www.calgunsfoundation.org) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization which serves its members and the public by providing Second Amendment-related education, strategic litigation, and the defense of innocent California gun owners from improper or malicious prosecution. The Calguns Foundation seeks to inform government and protect the rights of individuals to acquire, own, and lawfully use firearms in California. Supporters may visit http://www.calgunsfoundation.org/donate to join or donate to CGF.
CONTACT:
Brandon Combs
[email protected]
(650) 275-1015
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