Landmark California gun seizure law takes effect 1 January but amid concerns
‘Gun violence restraining order’ law raises questions from pro-gun groups and lawmakers about civil liberties and how effective it will really be
Monica Lopez
Guardian.com
Thursday 31 December 2015
A California gun statute going into effect on 1 January gives the police or family members the option to petition the courts to seize the guns and ammunition of someone they think poses a threat, the first law of its kind in the country.
But the “gun violence restraining order” law, passed last year, has raised concerns from lawmakers and pro-gun groups about civil liberties and questions about how effective it will really be.
Modeled after firearms prohibitions in domestic violence restraining orders, the statute allows for law enforcement or “immediate family members” to ask a judge for a restraining order if they feel that someone is a danger to themselves or others. The order would also bar the person from purchasing a firearm by placing them on the state’s do-not-buy list.
The stories you need to read, in one handy email
Read more
Former California assemblywoman Nancy Skinner introduced the bill, AB 1014, in 2014, just two days after a 22-year-old man, Elliot Rodger, went on a murderous rampage in Isla Vista, California, killing six people and then himself.
“The shooter’s mother and his father were aware that this man was basically threatening violence,” Skinner, a Democrat, said this month. “They did everything they felt they had the ability to do to try to intervene to stop their son from doing something violent, but they didn’t have any tools.”
Republican assemblywoman Melissa Melendez said she voted against the bill because she believed it violated due process by seizing guns without a hearing for 21 days. She did successfully amend the law’s language to allow for a gun owner to sell or store their guns with a licensed firearms dealer.
The Rest…HERE
