The state of California's legislature has just approved a bill, SB140, which would take $24 million collected by the state's Dealer Record of Sale (DROS) system, a system through which every sale or transfer of a gun in the state must go, and transfer these funds to the state's Department of Justice to accomplish at least a start on clearing the backlog of confiscations of guns which were legally obtained by the gun owner at the time the sale or transfer took place but which are now illegal for that person to have due to a criminal record (30% of said owners), report of mental illness by a qualified professional (30%), having a restraining order against them (20%) or having an outstanding warrant for his or her arrest (quoted by HuffPo as "a small percentage"). Given that that last category was cited as a small percentage, there are obviously other categories of individual who, at this point, own guns illegally. It is expected to take at least three years to clear the backlog. Using twice-weekly sweeps without a warrant, authorities have seized over 10,000 illegal guns in the past five years.
I am interested in getting the community's input on this. Let's have a discussion. Is this a brilliant idea? An abysmal one? A sensible way to get guns away from people who lost the right to own them or a violation of rights? And why?
One thing that does bother me is that a person who cooperates with the sweep is then liable for arrest under suspicion of illegally owning a weapon, which would seem to me to make it less likely that a given person will cooperate. As the sweeps are conducted without warrants, what inducement is there for people to cooperate, and how could this be addressed?
The bill, authored by Senator Mark Leno, returns to the Senate briefly for amendments which are expected to be non-controversial, then heads to Governor Jerry Brown's desk for his signature. If he signs it, the bill takes effect immediately.