Gun Purchases

Going back to my first blog, “California has some of the strictest gun control laws in the U.S.” Below is what a law abiding citizen would have to go through in order to purchase and long gun or a handgun.

All firearms purchases and transfers, including private party transactions and sales at gun shows, must be made through a licensed dealer under the Dealer Record of Sale (DROS) process. California imposes a 10-day waiting period before a firearm can be released to a buyer or transferee. A person must be at least 18 years of age to purchase a rifle or shotgun. To buy a handgun, a person must be at least 21 years of age, and either 1) possess an Hunter Safety Certificate (HSC) plus successfully complete a safety demonstration with the handgun being purchased or 2) qualify for an HSC exemption. People who qualify for the exemption are law enforcement officers. The safety demonstration would include the purchaser to show the licensed dealer he/she knows how to operate the gun. Essentially, does the purchaser know how to put the safety on etc? A transferee is considered a person who owns a gun and would like to transfer the weapon to someone else.

As part of the DROS process, the buyer must present "clear evidence of identity and age" which is defined as a valid, non-expired California Driver's License or Identification Card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles. A military identification accompanied by permanent duty station orders indicating a posting in California is also acceptable.

If the buyer is not a U.S. Citizen, then he or she is required to demonstrate that he or she is legally within the United States by providing to the firearms dealer with documentation that contains his/her Alien Registration Number or I-94 Number.

Purchasers of handguns are also required to provide proof of California residency, such as a utility bill, residential lease, property deed, or government-issued identification (other than a drivers license or other DMV-issued identification).

Now you have an understanding of what a California citizen would have to go through in order to purchase a gun. Do you still feel we need more gun laws here in California? No matter how many gun laws we enact criminals are still going to get their hands on them, which is why they are referred to as “criminals.” The only people who are impaired or obstructed from owning or possessing firearms because of gun laws are the law-abiding folks. The bad news is the unarmed and law-abiding folks are usually the victims of criminals.

Second Amendment

In the Bill of Rights, the second amendment to the Constitution reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed."

Gun control proponents argue the word “people” in this Amendment, refers not to the civilian population of the United States, but to the State National Guard Units. Gun rights proponents argue that the use of the word "Militia" in this Amendment, refers not to the State National Guard Units, but to the citizens of the United States. Some argue that since the militias are "owned," or under the command of the states, that the states are free to disarm their militia if they so choose, and therefore of course no individual right to keep arms exists. The Militia is not "owned," rather it is controlled, organized, by governments. The federal government as well as the states have no legitimate power to disarm the people from which militias are organized.

This amendment is argued about quite often, and is mentioned in the news almost daily. Some people believe that the government is the enemy, and citizens must continue to protect themselves. Some believe that the level of violence is so high in the United States because the number of guns available is too high, and too many people have guns. There is a popular saying that, "If you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns." Another popular saying is, "Guns don't kill people, people do." If guns were outlawed criminals would still get their hands on guns from an array of illegal sources. The criminal would then have full advantage of his victim because he/she would know the victim is not in possession of a weapon.

Gun Control Laws

The Brady Bill was implemented on February 28, 1994. This law established a national 5 business day waiting period on handgun purchases through licensed dealers. It also required local authorities to conduct background checks on handgun purchasers. As of December of 1998, an amendment to the Brady Bill replaced the five business day waiting period with a national "instant" felon ID system. Dealers are required to conduct this background check on all gun purchases, not just handgun purchases. It is estimated that over forty percent of gun acquisitions occur in the secondary market.1 That means these gun purchases happen without a Brady background check at a federally licensed gun dealer. If our government were to enact more gun control laws, does this mean we will reduce that forty percent of Illegal gun purchasers? No, that number will not be reduced because these laws do not affect illegal gun purchasers. The people these laws affect are law abiding citizens.

California has some of the strictest gun control laws in the U.S. With my father being a federally licensed dealer, I have had firsthand experience with California’s gun control laws. More posts to come with an in-depth look at California’s gun control laws.

1 http://www.bradycampaign.org/pdf/faq/background-checks.pdf