NRA Members' Councils of California

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CAL-ERT  11/07/06 --- 12:00 A.M. 
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CALIFORNIA REGULATORY ALERT
This information is accurate at the time this CAL-ERT was written and originally distributed. The NRA Members' Councils of California will keep you informed as the situation changes in Sacramento.

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!!!

LOCKYER’S NEW PROPOSED “ASSAULT WEAPON” REGULATIONS                                   

COULD DRAMATICALLY EXPAND “ASSAULT WEAPON” LAW.

DOJ NEEDS TO HEAR FROM YOU!   NOW!!!  (deadline Nov. 17, 2006)

The California Department of Justice has recently published a second (revised) set of new proposed administrative regulations pertaining to "assault weapons." If adopted, the regulations could turn thousands of semi-automatic rifles with fixed magazines, previously thought to be legal, into illegal "assault weapons." The regulation and related information is posted at: http://www.ag.ca.gov/firearms/regs/awnotice1106.php.

The regulation would appear to deem many fixed magazine rifles with a one feature prohibited by Penal Code section 12276.1 that could be retrofitted with a detachable magazine an "assault weapon." Firearm owners and concerned parties need to review the regulations and submit their comments. In commenting, please consider the following:

Under Penal Code section 12276.1 (passed as part of Senate Bill 23 in 2000), any "semi-automatic, center fire rifle that has the 'capacity to accept a detachable magazine'" and any one of the listed features (conspicuously protruding pistol grip, flash suppressor, collapsible stock, etc.) is an "assault weapon." Since its passage in 2000, "capacity to accept" has been understood to mean a rifle receiver into which a detachable magazine could be inserted in the condition in which it is possessed. So fixed magazine rifles that could be reconfigured or retrofitted to accept an after market detachable magazine, if not actually so configured, were legal. And if a magazine was adapted so that it could not be removed without using a tool or disassembling the receiver, it was no longer considered "detachable" and so the Senate Bill 23 features could be left on, or put on, the firearm.

Almost a year ago, responding to a letter about AR "series" receivers, the DOJ acknowledged that unless an AR or AK receiver is listed in Penal Code section 12276 (the 1989 Roberti-Roos list), or listed by DOJ in the California Code of Regulations (CCR), the receiver is legal. (There is still some debate about whether a receiver by itself is an "assault weapon." DOJ’s position, naturally, is that it is.) This caused an influx of these legal receivers into the state. Concerned about this, DOJ announced it was going to make the receivers illegal by adding them to the "series" list in the CCR. But this would mean DOJ would have to allow them to be registered. When it was pointed out that once registered, the SB 23 prohibited features could then be added to the firearm, the DOJ announced that it would create two classes of "assault weapon" registration, and that the newly registered guns could not have the features. When it was pointed out to the DOJ that the law did not provide for two classes of "assault weapon" registration, and that if these guns were registered the features would have to be allowed, DOJ decided not to add the series receivers to the list after all. But DOJ did publish a bulletin on May 9^th in an attempt to restrict the use of the receivers. The bulletin says:

The DOJ bulletin makes clear DOJ intends to only exclude firearms that are "permanently altered" to only accept a fixed magazine from the "capacity to accept a detachable magazine" definition. So the effect of DOJ’s proposed regulation could be to expand the definition of "assault weapon" to include any rifle with just one of the prohibited features that could be retrofitted with a detachable magazine, even if currently equipped with a fixed magazine. Given the number of after market detachable magazine conversion kits available, and the ability to further machine practically any receiver to accept a detachable magazine, the new regulation could condemn thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of guns!

In June, DOJ proposed a new regulation, and introduced legislation (AB 2728) that would repeal the regulatory add-on provisions so DOJ would not have to administer that aspect of the law anymore. In its first draft of the regulations, DOJ attempted to define "capacity to accept a detachable magazine" as "capable of accommodating a detachable magazine, but shall not be construed to include a firearm that has been permanently altered so that it cannot accommodate a detachable magazine." The regulation itself was confusing, despite the fact that regulations are supposed to "clarify" the law. Based on comments submitted in opposition to the first regulation (see www.calgunlaws.com) the DOJ has now rewritten the regulations.

THE NEW PROPOSED REGULATIONS: (as amended on November 1, 2006)

As now proposed, the regulations define "capacity to accept a detachable magazine" as follows:

ACTION REQUIRED:

Since the CA-DOJ has published they "revised" regulations, it is necessary to submit new comments into the public record in opposition to these misguided rules that were proposed on November 1, 2006.  .   

Review the DOJ’s proposal at http://ag.ca.gov/firearms/regs/awnotice1106.php Direct questions to the Firearms Division at (916) 263-4887, email your comments to jeff.amador@doj.ca.gov, or fax them to his attention at (916) 263-0676. Comments must be submitted by November 17^th, 2006.

The Department will NOT hold a public hearing on the proposed regulation.

 In your LETTER OF OPPOSITION, be sure to point out that:

• Over one-hundred thousand firearm owners have relied, to their detriment if this regulation passes, on the historical interpretation, actions, and application of the "assault weapon" statutes and existing regulations defining "detachable magazine," which focuses on the interface between the magazine and the rifle.
   

• Fixed magazine guns, like the Barrett 82A1/CA and DSArms, can be retrofitted with a detachable magazine -- which would make them illegal.
   

• The DOJ historically emphasized that the focus on modifications of firearms was whether the firearm was a "fixed magazine" or a "detachable magazine," not the reversibility of the modification. For example, Director of the Firearms Division, Randy Rossi stated in a letter as far back as August 13, 2002 that a Barrett 82A1/CA, which was approved by the DOJ, was a "fixed magazine" – despite the fact that the same firearm would not meet the newly proposed regulation by the DOJ.
   

• A DOJ lawyer for the Firearms Division has previously stated in writing that "a receiver with a magazine that is not ‘readily detachable’ is not subject to the ban on generic characteristic [sic] set forth in section 12276.1(a)(1)."
   

• This regulation would invalidate all ".50 BMG Rifle" registrations for the Barrett 82A1 made by owners pursuant to AB50, because an "assault weapon" cannot be registered ".50 BMG Rifle."
   

• "Reversed" should be defined. But given modern machining capabilities, no firearm is ever "irreversible" to only accept a fixed magazine. And, the DOJ has admitted that a firearm cannot be permanently altered to not accept a detachable magazine.
   

• The regulation would deem any fixed magazine rifle with one feature prohibited by Penal Code section 12276.1 that could be retrofitted with a detachable magazine an "assault weapon." There are many of these rifles in California. These could include SKS type rifles, DSArms FN-FAL series rifles, and any rifle for which an after market "detachable magazine" retrofit kit is available.
   

• People were mislead to believe that by putting a fixed magazine of their rifle they were in compliance with the law.
   

• People were not told they needed to register these guns as "assault weapons" and the registration period has now expired.
   

• It is unclear what the term "action" means. Is it the receiver, the trigger group, or what?
   

• The DOJ has already stated that the phrase "capacity to accept" is clear.
   

• The DOJ has already stated that the courts should decide what "capacity to accept" means.
   

• The proposed amendment affects small businesses by making criminals out of law abiding purchasers of firearms who relied upon the DOJ’s previous interpretations and their dealer’s assurances that firearms purchased by the public were lawful.
   

• It is unclear what the term "device" means, because it has not been defined. 
   

• It is unclear what the term "irreversible" means since anything can be reversed with time and tools, even the approved methods of modification.
   

• The inclusion of the phrase "removed, reversed, or disengaged, without alteration to the magazine well" limits the allowable modifications to the four modifications listed in subdivision (3) despite the inclusion of the unrestricted language "for example" used in subdivision (3). This is also true despite the fact that the four proposed approved "examples" are reversible and conflicts with the alleged intent of the newly proposed regulation.
   

• The proposed amendment exceeds the scope of the stated purposes of the regulation, which was to "define a sixth term, ‘capacity to accept a detachable magazine’, as meaning ‘capable of accommodating a detachable magazine, but shall not be construed to include a firearm that has been permanently altered so that it cannot accommodate a detachable magazine.’"
   

This list is not exhaustive; please consider your own situation for your letter and make us aware of any additional talking points that should be shared. In addition to sending your comments to the DOJ, please forward your comments to the California NRA Office at: http://www.calnra.com/msg/index.shtml

Find this California Alert on the web at: http://www.calnra.com/calerts/calert110706.shtml

Continue to monitor the latest legislative updates at: http://NRAMembersCouncils.com/legs.shtml

NRA Members’ Councils of California http://NRAMembersCouncils.com

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