Californians Race to Buy Long Guns Before Registry Takes Effect
Californians have one more day left before Long Gun Registration takes effect. Starting on January 1, 2014, every long gun sold in California must be registered in a permanent State government database. With the threat of registration looming, Californians are lining up in record numbers to purchase rifles and shotguns. At many gun stores, sales of long guns are up 30-50% compared to last year, as Californians try to “get their guns” before mandatory registration takes effect.
Under current law, a Californian (with no criminal history) may purchase a rifle or shotgun, subject to a 10-day waiting period. At least in theory, once the background check was approved, the gun store owner could destroy the sales record. However, that will change under the terms of AB 809, passed in 2011. AB 809 mandated that, starting in 2014, California shall maintain a permanent record of all new long guns purchased within the state.
Under the new law, each new long gun must be registered. A state firearms registry will track the make, model and serial number of the gun, as well as the person who owns it. In effect, long guns will be treated like handguns, with every gun sold being recorded for all eternity in a state database. According to CBS News: “Previously dealers would destroy personal information on long gun owners after a background check had been completed. Now they’ll register those purchases with the state.”
The new law also imposes new restrictions on the sale of previously-owned long arms (i.e. rifles and shotguns). Now, every time a long gun changes hands, the firearm must be added to the State firearm registry. Previously, nearly all long gun transactions needed to be carried out through an FFL, however, there was no additional registration requirement. After January 1, 2014, when a long gun is transfered via the FFL, it must then be registered. CBS News states: “Guns currently in existence, including heirloom weapons that have been handed down from one generation of family members to the next, will have to be registered for the first time when they next change hands.”
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Tags: AB 809, California, FFL, Gun Registration, Long Gun, Registry, Second Amendment, Shotgun
I believe the gunstore owner would have to keep the 4473 on file for at least 20 yrs, to comply with fed ATF regs.
Having once lived in California for a number of years I always take a little bit of pleasure in owning a gun that is now illegal in the state. Schemes like this make it easier and cheaper to get that warm feeling. Pretty soon all I’ll have to do is read the news, open the safe, take a look, and watch one more illegal gun be mine without any spending or change in inventory on my part. I don’t believe that’s how those guys in Philadelphia 200+ years ago meant it to work.
California is setting the stage to follow in other states that seek to register then force the sale, removal or confiscate those registered rifles.
unfortunately the lower I bought on black Friday didn’t make it to my local FFL in time. Pretty bummed about that.
As an Australian this is a system we have had for some time.
What exactly is the issue here?
@pteOMARK
The issue is we’re not in Australia…
The Canadians had a Long Gun Registery too. It was a massive waste of money ($2.7 Billion!) and never solved a single murder. Just another common sense gun law that doesn’t make any sense. No wonder Califoria’s State Government is broke!
Canada just got rid of their failed gun registry. They were told it would cost 2 million, it ended up costing more than 2 billion. It was breached multiple times and more than half the entries in it were wrong.
Just before every election, people with big gun collections were conveniently and coincidentally robbed. Liberal politicians would of course then use that as an excuse for banning all guns since “more than half the guns used in crimes are stolen from legal gun owners”.
It matters because it is none of anyone’s business what gun I have. In America, our wise Founders recognized the God given right to independence, self-government and self protection, which, as I recall, was not part of the previous administration’s understanding of :”divine right”. It is time to tell our elected government exactly what we told the king.
As an Australian thats not drinking the coolaid, and remembers the confiscations and knows every time something new gets banned the list comes out and they come door to door — Don’t imagine for a moment that this won’t end in confiscation!
It will and has everywhere else. Fight for your rights, some of us down under still remember freedom (if only as a dim memory)
Some American friends of mine are thinking it will be the end of shooting and buying more guns. We in Australia might not have the “freedom” we did 30 years ago, but we are still able to own as many guns as we like. I know of people with over 30 guns I have heard of some with over 100 guns), including semi auto pistols, revolvers, shot guns, rifles.