About “Gunmageddon” 2023
On September 25, 2023, in a televised press conference Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a whole bunch of anti-gun bills, including SB 2, the Bruen revenge bill. While SB 2 is significant, the rest of the bills do make some unconstitutional and annoying, but not earth-shattering changes. To help dispel some of the misunderstandings about the bills, here is a brief summary
Body armor banned?
Body armor was not banned by AB 92. While it originally sought to outlaw it, the bill passed into law only banning possession of body armor (bulletproof vests) by felons, which is already federal law.
AB-455
Adds pretrial diversion participants under certain conditions to the list of prohibited persons (1001.36 PC.
Pretrial diversion is something that the defense can apply for; the firearm restriction being applied is something new. Generally, unless one is legitimately mentally ill they would not qualify here and probably would also have another pre-existing disqualifier that would apply to them. Here, the prosecution must request the firearm prohibition and prove that the defendant is a danger.
For this to apply, one must:
Mental disorder is subjective: any DSM diagnosis “including, but not limited to, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder, but excluding antisocial personality disorder and pedophilia. While the court system can of course be manipulated this is not mandatory and a judge can refuse to make the firearm-specific finding in the diversion order.
8103 (i) WI "[...] they are a danger to themselves or others and has been granted pretrial mental health diversion pursuant to subdivision (m) of Section 1001.36 of the Penal Code, shall not own, possess, control, receive, or purchase, or attempt to own, possess, control, receive, or purchase, any firearm until the person successfully completes diversion or their firearm rights are restored […]”
AB 574 Lost/stolen gun trap: “no more ‘boating accidents’ law
Basically this bill creates a trap so you can’t claim your guns were lost/stolen. This is the “no more ‘boating accidents’ law. Effective March 1, 2025 the DROS application will require a yes or no answer to a question that inquires whether the purchaser has, within the past 30 days, checked and confirmed possession of all firearms currently owned or possessed (28160 (a)(30) PC).
So if you report a gun lost or stolen after you answer this question and it’s somehow determined that you weren’t truthful on the application, you can be prosecuted. This brings up a constitutional question of self-incrimination.
Email addresses
As both part of AB 574 and AB 1420 AB 1420. For transactions on and after September 1, 2025, the purchaser’s email address will be required on the DROS application (28160(a) PC. Disposable email addresses aren’t prohibited.
AB 1089 3D printers
Bans 3D “gun” printers, basically specifically targeting the Ghost Gunner. 3273.50(g) PC would be added, which is tied to how the product is marketed. Not only does this raise questionable First Amendment issues, 3D printers and mills are general purpose. “This bill would also prohibit the sale, purchase, possession, or receipt of a three-dimensional printer that has the sole or primary function of manufacturing firearms to or by any person in the state other than a state-licensed firearms manufacturer, as specified.”
AB 1406 30-day wait
No, the 10-day wait is not going to 30-days. 30 days would only apply in a state of emergency, like with COVID. To quote the bill summary:
“This bill would additionally authorize the department to request a delay of the delivery of a firearm for up to 30 days if an emergency, as defined, has caused the department to be unable to review records to determine a purchaser’s eligibility to purchase, receive, own, or possess a firearm prior to the conclusion of the waiting period.“
2820(g)(6) PC: “If, as determined by order of the Attorney General, an emergency of the type described in Section 8558 of the Government Code has caused the department to be unable to obtain or review records to determine a purchaser’s eligibility to purchase, receive, own, or possess a firearm prior to the conclusion of the waiting period described in Sections 26815 and 27540, the department may notify the dealer to delay the transfer of the firearm to the purchaser up to 30 days after the dealer’s original submission of purchaser information to the department.”
If a state of emergency is declared under Section 8558 of the Government Code, as happened with COVID, the DOJ can tell the dealer to delay the sale/transfer for up to 30 days. There is no provision for if the DOJ is able to process the records faster that the gun can be released sooner; DOJ can older a 30 day hold and leave it at that. Yes, this means that during a declared state of emergency the state can simply tell gun stores “We’re busy, delay all gun transactions by 30 days,” whether they need 30 days or not.
AB 1483 Private party sales
Private party gun transactions will count towards the one gun every 30 days restriction effective January 1, 2025. That means you can’t buy a gun from the dealer’s counter and then also buy from a private seller (doing the transfer through a dealer, of course) another or more guns. 27535(a) would be added to the penal code. Private party sales aren't being banned, it's just that Sacramento found out that some people were buying two guns a month (eek!) using this "one weird little trick" and they had to stop it.
Credit card codes?
AB 1587 requires a credit card merchant category code specific to firearm sales to be implemented. Currently the closest there is, generally speaking, is a “sporting goods” category. However, this point is moot as far the government know what you have since California registers all gun sales/transactions otherwise. There is a larger issue of credit card tracking/bans by the credit card companies themselves but this is a different matter and one of federal, not state, concern.
Body armor was not banned by AB 92. While it originally sought to outlaw it, the bill passed into law only banning possession of body armor (bulletproof vests) by felons, which is already federal law.
AB-455
Adds pretrial diversion participants under certain conditions to the list of prohibited persons (1001.36 PC.
Pretrial diversion is something that the defense can apply for; the firearm restriction being applied is something new. Generally, unless one is legitimately mentally ill they would not qualify here and probably would also have another pre-existing disqualifier that would apply to them. Here, the prosecution must request the firearm prohibition and prove that the defendant is a danger.
For this to apply, one must:
- Must suffer from a mental disorder, diagnosed by a “qualified mental health expert”
- Must be found to a danger to themselves or others
- Must have a court order issued valid until diversion is complete
Mental disorder is subjective: any DSM diagnosis “including, but not limited to, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder, but excluding antisocial personality disorder and pedophilia. While the court system can of course be manipulated this is not mandatory and a judge can refuse to make the firearm-specific finding in the diversion order.
8103 (i) WI "[...] they are a danger to themselves or others and has been granted pretrial mental health diversion pursuant to subdivision (m) of Section 1001.36 of the Penal Code, shall not own, possess, control, receive, or purchase, or attempt to own, possess, control, receive, or purchase, any firearm until the person successfully completes diversion or their firearm rights are restored […]”
AB 574 Lost/stolen gun trap: “no more ‘boating accidents’ law
Basically this bill creates a trap so you can’t claim your guns were lost/stolen. This is the “no more ‘boating accidents’ law. Effective March 1, 2025 the DROS application will require a yes or no answer to a question that inquires whether the purchaser has, within the past 30 days, checked and confirmed possession of all firearms currently owned or possessed (28160 (a)(30) PC).
So if you report a gun lost or stolen after you answer this question and it’s somehow determined that you weren’t truthful on the application, you can be prosecuted. This brings up a constitutional question of self-incrimination.
Email addresses
As both part of AB 574 and AB 1420 AB 1420. For transactions on and after September 1, 2025, the purchaser’s email address will be required on the DROS application (28160(a) PC. Disposable email addresses aren’t prohibited.
AB 1089 3D printers
Bans 3D “gun” printers, basically specifically targeting the Ghost Gunner. 3273.50(g) PC would be added, which is tied to how the product is marketed. Not only does this raise questionable First Amendment issues, 3D printers and mills are general purpose. “This bill would also prohibit the sale, purchase, possession, or receipt of a three-dimensional printer that has the sole or primary function of manufacturing firearms to or by any person in the state other than a state-licensed firearms manufacturer, as specified.”
AB 1406 30-day wait
No, the 10-day wait is not going to 30-days. 30 days would only apply in a state of emergency, like with COVID. To quote the bill summary:
“This bill would additionally authorize the department to request a delay of the delivery of a firearm for up to 30 days if an emergency, as defined, has caused the department to be unable to review records to determine a purchaser’s eligibility to purchase, receive, own, or possess a firearm prior to the conclusion of the waiting period.“
2820(g)(6) PC: “If, as determined by order of the Attorney General, an emergency of the type described in Section 8558 of the Government Code has caused the department to be unable to obtain or review records to determine a purchaser’s eligibility to purchase, receive, own, or possess a firearm prior to the conclusion of the waiting period described in Sections 26815 and 27540, the department may notify the dealer to delay the transfer of the firearm to the purchaser up to 30 days after the dealer’s original submission of purchaser information to the department.”
If a state of emergency is declared under Section 8558 of the Government Code, as happened with COVID, the DOJ can tell the dealer to delay the sale/transfer for up to 30 days. There is no provision for if the DOJ is able to process the records faster that the gun can be released sooner; DOJ can older a 30 day hold and leave it at that. Yes, this means that during a declared state of emergency the state can simply tell gun stores “We’re busy, delay all gun transactions by 30 days,” whether they need 30 days or not.
AB 1483 Private party sales
Private party gun transactions will count towards the one gun every 30 days restriction effective January 1, 2025. That means you can’t buy a gun from the dealer’s counter and then also buy from a private seller (doing the transfer through a dealer, of course) another or more guns. 27535(a) would be added to the penal code. Private party sales aren't being banned, it's just that Sacramento found out that some people were buying two guns a month (eek!) using this "one weird little trick" and they had to stop it.
Credit card codes?
AB 1587 requires a credit card merchant category code specific to firearm sales to be implemented. Currently the closest there is, generally speaking, is a “sporting goods” category. However, this point is moot as far the government know what you have since California registers all gun sales/transactions otherwise. There is a larger issue of credit card tracking/bans by the credit card companies themselves but this is a different matter and one of federal, not state, concern.