Category: You have to be kidding, right!?!
Care to guess who got robbed soon after this video was posted? Grumpy
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
California lawmakers held an oversight hearing on Tuesday to figure out how to improve the state’s Armed and Prohibited Persons System, also known as APPS, which is a program that is supposed to keep guns out of the hands of potentially dangerous people.
The program has faced criticism for using antiquated systems and having the workload outweigh the manpower.
“California leads with some of the most stringent gun laws, but gun violence is a daily reality for communities across our state,” Assm. Reggie Jones-Sawyer said. “We know gun violence across California requires stronger action.”
The APPS program, which only exists in California, places legal gun owners on a list of people who are prohibited from having weapons if they are convicted of a felony, violent misdemeanor, have a restraining order against them or for a mental health reason. The program has been in place since 2001 and uses the state’s Automated Firearms System, which tracks in state registration of firearm owners across the state. The California Department of Justice oversees the APPS program.
“The program has been plagued with numerous challenges since its introduction,” said Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris in Tuesday’s hearing, noting there were 24,000 people on the APPS list. “That is just not good enough,” she said.
Tuesday’s oversight hearing included lawmakers from the Assembly Public Safety Committee and Administrative Review Committees.
The CA DOJ was still in the process of putting together its latest data, which is expected to release sometime in the spring, so the agency used numbers from its 2021 report in Tuesday’s hearing.
CA DOJ officials said of the 24,000 people on the APPS list, 10,000 of them were still in the process of being investigated to have weapons taken away. Another 14,000 are considered “pending cases,” meaning the investigations were exhausted because of reasons including agents being unable to clear weapons, unable to locate the person, or those on the list moved out of state. Officials said they expected the 10,000 figure to remain consistent, noting prohibited people land on the list daily.
The CA DOJ has 73 special agents dedicated to taking weapons away from those prohibited from having them every day. Officials said 56 special agents are currently doing the work while the agency tries to fill 17 vacant positions, noting turnover is high when other large law enforcement agencies have better pay.
Former California Highway Patrolman and Republican Assm. Tom Lackey said law enforcement retention and recruitment go beyond pay.
“Morale amongst law enforcement is low right now; all agencies are having trouble because the incentive has been thwarted,” Lackey said. “Everybody hurts when we demonize an entire profession for conduct of a few.”
San Diego’s police department and city attorney’s office have a state-leading gun violence restraining order program. The state has earmarked $1 million for the agency to help train other local agencies across the state.
Sgt. Thomas Dillon and Chief Deputy City Attorney Nicole Crosby suggested lawmakers consider approving resources to create regional APPS/Gun Violence Restraining Order task forces. They noted this will help boost manpower and streamline communication between agencies.
“We have a great relationship with DOJ but the burden of firearms collection falls on local law enforcement,” Crosby told lawmakers.
“The biggest concern we have is to maintain accurate information in a timely manner,” Dillon told lawmakers, who noted the APPS system uses old technology and requires the use of several state databases to gather information on a prohibited person.
Republican Assm. Laurie Davies introduced a bill, Assembly Bill 303, that would create a new database for the APPS system.
Tuesday’s hearing was informational, meaning no votes or action was taken. It’s possible state lawmakers could address the system’s issues through legislation or the state budget process.
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KFOR) – Some sheriff’s offices across Oklahoma are standing against the enforcement of a new gun rule from the U.S. Department of Justice that expands the definition of short-barreled rifles to include pistols with stabilizing braces. These sheriffs assert that the new rule contradicts the Oklahoma Second Amendment Sanctuary Act.
On January 13, the DOJ submitted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ “Stabilizing Braces” Final Rule, “which makes clear that when manufacturers, dealers, and individuals use stabilizing braces to convert pistols into rifles with a barrel of less than 16 inches, commonly referred to as a short-barreled rifles, they must comply with the laws that regulate those rifles, including the National Firearms Act (NFA).”
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said the rule “makes clear that firearm manufacturers, dealers, and individuals cannot evade these important public safety protections simply by adding accessories to pistols that transform them into short-barreled rifles.”
elbach explained further.
“Short-barreled rifles have the greater capability of long guns, yet are easier to conceal, like a pistol,” he said. “But certain so-called stabilizing braces are designed to just attach to pistols, essentially converting them into short-barreled rifles to be fired from the shoulder. Therefore, they must be treated in the same way under the statute.”
On Tuesday, Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson lll said per the Oklahoma Second Amendment Sanctuary Act, his office cannot enforce the rule established by the DOJ since it’s not a federal law.
“This state statute creates a contradiction,” he said. “Therefore, I have instructed my deputies, if you encounter someone in possession of a pistol with a stabilizing brace during a low-level incidental contact like a traffic stop, traffic collision, or a motorist assist, deputies are not to take any action in regard to enforcement of ATF Final rule 2021R-08f… In other words, if a deputy encounters someone with a pistol equipped with a stabilizing brace, they will take no action against that person unless that person is using the weapon in the commission of a crime.”
Sheriff Damon Devereaux of Logan County and Sheriff Jim Mullett of Garvin County announced similar positions on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
“The Logan County Sheriff’s Office stands with our neighbors to the South, Sheriff Tommy Johnson lll, and The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office and any other Sheriff’s Office or other Law Enforcement in defense of rights,” Devereaux said, citing Oklahoma State Statutes 1289.24d and 1289.24e.
Joshua Harris-Till, a leader with the Oklahoma chapter of Moms Demand Action, disagrees with the stance.
“The sheriff’s office should uphold this new rule because it is just a clarification on the short-barrel firearm laws already on the books,” he said. “It shouldn’t be something that we’re saying is a threat to the Second Amendment. All it is is a clarification.”
He explained how enforcing the rule of registering pistols with stabilizing braces as short-barreled rifles will make things better.
“It doesn’t make them illegal, inherently,” he explained. “What it makes is an opportunity for you to register those guns to show that you are a responsible gun owner and that your guns won’t be used in any of the crimes that are happening. And that’s going to help us kind of determine which guns are supposed to be on the streets and which guns aren’t. And so, if you really support responsible gun ownership, you should be in favor of this law and in favor of the registration so that we can figure out how to end gun violence.”
The DOJ said beyond background checks and serial numbers, the heightened requirements for short-barreled rifles include taxation and registration requirements that include background checks for all transfers including private transfers.
The new rule allows for a 120-day period for manufacturers, dealers, and individuals to register tax-free any existing NFA short-barreled rifles covered by the rule. Other options including removing the stabilizing brace to return the firearm to a pistol or surrendering covered short-barreled rifles to ATF. Nothing in this rule bans stabilizing braces or the use of stabilizing braces on pistols.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced a series of proposals aimed at curbing gun violence in the state during a press conference in Waterbury on Monday.
The proposals, which will be introduced during the 2023 legislative session include:
- Banning open carry of firearms in public
- Allowing concealed carry with a permit except in certain locations
- Limiting handgun purchases to one per month
- Updating the state’s ban on unregistered “ghost guns.”
These proposals will be part of the governor’s package of priorities for the 2023 legislative session, which he plans to present to the Connecticut General Assembly in February.
Gov. Lamont’s plans were also introduced in a press release via his official site.
Even though Lamont acknowledged that Connecticut is one of the safest states in the country, he claims the reforms are “commonsense” and even necessary due to rising rates of gun violence around the country.
“It’s our responsibility to implement policies that keep our homes and our neighborhoods safe, and we have to take every opportunity to keep our residents protected,” Lamont said. “These commonsense reforms will protect our neighborhoods and the people who live in them.”
State Sen. Gary Winfield and State Rep. Steven Stafstrom, co-chairs of the Judiciary Committee, praised the governor’s proposals.
“I have seen the success of our state-supported community violence intervention programs up close and personal,” Winfield said. “They are critical to addressing and preventing gun violence in our communities, where strict gun laws fail to stop gun-related crime. We have the ability to address the root causes of gun violence and get to the individuals at risk of committing these offenses.”
Stafstrom agreed with Winfield.
“These critical reforms attack gun violence in our neighborhoods from every angle,” Stafstrom said. “I’ve supported some of these proposals in the past, and I look forward to working with the committee and the governor to get a commonsense gun violence package accomplished this session.”
According to Fox News, Republicans in the Democratic-controlled legislature took issue with the governor’s proposals, criticizing him for putting law-abiding citizens at risk while not placing enough emphasis on criminals.
“Today the Governor and Democrats pitched a familiar path to an ‘everybody problem’ by offering proposals that will again have law-abiding gun owners carrying most of the freight,” said House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora. “Missing from their news conference was any talk about focusing on the people who are squarely responsible for causing mayhem in our communities.”
The Governor’s proposal also includes allocating an additional $2.5 million for the community gun violence intervention and prevention program, which will continue funding for the staff at the Department of Public Health who oversee this program and also provide grants for community-based violence intervention organizations.
During Lamont’s time in office, he’s made gun control one of his primary goals. Starting in 2019, he made so-called “ghost guns” illegal unless the purchaser receives an official serial number from the state. In that same month, he banned gun owners from leaving their firearms unsecured in vehicles and homes. Part of that legislation was called “Ethan’s Law” in honor of 15-year-old Ethan Song, who was accidentally shot and killed while handling a .357 Magnum at his neighbor’s house.
This press conference took place less than a year after Lamont announced a $64 million dollar proposal for gun control which he claimed was supposed to address rising crime rates in the state.
“You’re not tough on crime if you’re weak on guns,” Lamont told reporters at the state Capitol in Hartford. ”We’re going to continue to stay tough on guns.”