Category: California
In 2001, California passed a first-of-its-kind law to create a database of residents who had become prohibited from owning firearms. Whether through criminal conduct or mental health issues, these individuals would be included on a list dubbed the “Armed and Prohibited Persons System” (APPS).
The database is made possible by the state’s firearm registration and universal background check systems, and the California Department of Justice hoped local law enforcement and state agents would be able to use APPS to confiscate firearms from those deemed unfit.
Unfortunately for Golden State gun grabbers, the program has been an abject failure—and its problems are only getting worse.
The news outlet CalMatters published this week a lengthy article highlighting the program’s worst failings, and they sum it up like this: “…what seemed at the time like a straight-forward approach to the enforcement of existing gun laws has instead become mired in chronic shortcomings, failing for years to make good on its potential.”
The full piece is worth a read, but CalMatters revealed (sometimes unintentionally, it seems) how the APPS system is used to harass gun owners and violate their privacy rights.
Since government agencies maintain the APPS list, CalMatters was able to obtain personal information of some of the current and former gun owners included in the database. But as CalMatters admits, not everyone on the list is supposed to be there.
SEE ALSO: New California Law Imposes Court Process for Confiscating Guns
Some people who appear in the APPS database have already surrendered their firearms. Others are only there due to administrative errors.
“Even when the information is correct, some people might be on the list because of an apparent misunderstanding or paperwork issue, not because they’re trying to illegally keep their guns,” the outlet reports.
Law enforcement agents sometimes devote time and resources to confiscating firearms only to find that the database has given them faulty information.
“The work-intensive process and outmoded technology has led some in law enforcement to question the database’s reliability. They say they’ve discovered errors during field operations and that investigations based on the list are a waste of resources,” according to CalMatters.
And then there’s simple bureaucratic incompetence. Some officials estimate that there are 24,000 people in the APPS database who have not surrendered their firearms. But CalMatters reports (towards the bottom of the article) that even this number is mostly guesswork.
“As it stands now, the department can’t even determine the precise breadth of the backlog, including how many cases have remained unresolved for more than six months,” they say.
There are multiple causes for the backlog. CalMatters discovered that many local police departments do not even know about the database. They also note that judges often do not ensure that their gun confiscation orders are carried out, and agents at the California DOJ can’t keep up with the constant stream of new prohibited persons.
SEE ALSO: CA Gov. Gavin Newsom: ‘We have the ability to do martial law…if necessary’
What many gun owners may not know is that just being on the list doesn’t give law enforcement the right to confiscate firearms. According to CalMatters, agents must acquire probable cause that a person still possesses a gun in order to obtain a search warrant. If an individual simply denies owning a firearm, the investigation may end right there.
One agency told CalMatters that they gave up on confiscating firearms after one night of work, calling it “a waste of resources that could be directed toward more pressing violent crime problems.” Some people provided proof that their guns had been sold long ago, while others claimed they had gotten rid of them but could provide no evidence.
“There was just no way to verify,” one agent said, adding that the state “has no idea who has guns and who’s turned them in.”
The program’s sorry track record has made it difficult for anti-gun advocates to justify its continued existence. According to CalMatters, “Gun control advocates struggled to identify shootings that might have been prevented had authorities successfully retrieved firearms,” and the outlet did not report on any specific instances.
One spokesperson for the anti-gun group Giffords may have unintentionally summed up how most law-abiding gun owners feel about gun control efforts.
“It’s very frustrating to see that we have such a hard time implementing firearms removals in situations where we have all the information in front of us,” she said. “It doesn’t give the public a lot of confidence in our ability to tackle a lot of these more complex firearm issues.”
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This was what it looked like when America was at its Zenith in my humble Opinion!
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Amen Brother!
If you get the chance, go down the Pacific Coast highway in Big Sur. Because it is easily one of the best places to go to get in touch with nature. For me at least it also helps my Soul and Heart to go there just to unwind.
Also while it is getting expensive just like everything in this crazy state of mine. The cost of doing a Hog Hunt is not as bad as you would think. Just do a proper job of research and you will find the right Hunting Outfit for you and your Pocketbook.
The other Good News is that on Thursday. San Luis Obispo has a farmers market. Which is a whole lot of fun. Plus SLO as the locals call it has some of the best Tri Tip steak sandwich’s around.
Grumpy
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Bismuth 12 Ga. Slug by E.M.Smith
Bismuth 12 Ga. Slug
For those who do not know, California has banned the use of Lead in ammunition used for hunting. Why? Supposedly to reduce toxicity in birds eating lead lumps and shot. In reality, more likely IMHO is that the goal was to make it harder to get any ammo to shoot and raise prices.
The result has been a lot of use of Bismuth in shot as the weight is about the same as lead and it is non-toxic. Also it isn’t that expensive. For hunting rounds in rifles, the use of solid copper and related alloys has been common.
Copper is much harder than lead, so many of those hunting rounds now penetrate more soft body armor than the prior rounds. (Note: NO soft body armor is “bullet proof”, each is only rated to stop certain classes of rounds. There is no “bullet proof vest”. There is no “cop killer bullet”, only a necessary energy and hardness to penetrate any given level of vest.)
But what happens with a Bismuth slug?
Well, the Taofledermause folks tested it. Results are fascinating to say the least. Due to increased brittleness, the slug tends to disintegrate on hard targets. BUT it also tends to make a few larger chunks in the process on softer targets. As a result, it penetrated a Level 3 soft body armor test panel that will stop a Foster Slug of lead.
In a block of ballistic gel, it was an amazing effect. Shedding some fragments that stopped in a few inches, while some large chunks traveled the whole length, and the rest formed an expanding cone of destruction in between.
I would not want to be on the wrong end of one of those slugs.
Now, this was an alloy of mostly Bismuth, a bit of Antimony, and some tin (12%) so as to stop the tendency of Bismuth to expand on cooling. That let them use a regular lead casting mold to get a proper sized bullet / slug. I have no idea how much of this peculiar performance comes from that particular alloy, but it will matter to some degree.
Bismuth - 87.25% Antimony - 0.75% Tin - 12%
An interesting result, to say the least. Attempting to make it a pain to go shooting your shotgun resulting in a spectacular increase in lethality. Leftists – Accidentally increasing lethality for 53 years… (Banning “Saturday Night Specials” moved uninformed shoots / buyers up caliber and up quality into more lethal guns and calibers…)
I’m no longer concerned about the effectiveness of Bismuth in shotgun rounds 😉