jeff-gordon:
Well, if one thinks "now" is 2001. Notice the headline uses the dreaded "c-word." And emphasizes "legally purchased."
Some information on the Program:
http://www.psmag.com/politics/california-armed-prohibited-persons-system-gun-violence-felons-55449/
I think this is another poorly written headline. The state is not "taking back" guns because it didn't own them in the first place. We know different people generally write headlines and articles.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/nation/july-dec13/guns_07-23.html
"n addition, California law requires law enforcement to confiscate weapons found to be under the possession or control of any person who has been detained or apprehended for examination of his or her mental condition, or who is prohibited from possession of firearms by reason of a mental disorder.[SUP]
2[/SUP] Law enforcement must, upon confiscation, retain custody of the firearm and notify the individual of the procedure for return of the firearm.[SUP]
3[/SUP] Upon release from a mental health facility, the health facility personnel must notify the individual of the procedure for the return of a confiscated firearm.[SUP]
4[/SUP] Health facility personnel also must notify the confiscating law enforcement agency of the release of the detained individual, and must document that the facility provided notice regarding the procedure for return of any confiscated firearm.[SUP]
5"
http://smartgunlaws.org/disarming-prohibited-persons-in-california/
[/SUP]The article didn't include any information about a procedure for firearms to be returned.
"By law, Roy Perez should not have had a gun three years ago when he shot his mother 16 times in their home in Baldwin Park, Calif., killing her, and then went next door and killed a woman and her 4-year-old daughter.
"Mr. Perez, who pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and was sentenced last year to life in prison, had a history of
mental health issues. As a result, even though in 2004 he legally bought the 9-millimeter Glock 26 handgun he used, at the time of the shootings his name was in a statewide law enforcement database as someone whose gun should be taken away, according to the authorities.
"The case highlights a serious vulnerability when it comes to keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally unstable and others, not just in California but across the country.
"In the wake of the Tucson shootings, much attention has been paid to various categories of people who are legally barred from buying handguns — those who have been “adjudicated as a mental defective,” have felony convictions, have committed domestic violence misdemeanors and so on. The focus has almost entirely been on gaps in the federal background check system that is supposed to deny guns to these prohibited buyers.
"There is, however, another major blind spot in the system.
"Tens of thousands of gun owners, like Mr. Perez, bought their weapons legally but under the law should no longer have them because of subsequent mental health or criminal issues. In Mr. Perez’s case, he had been held involuntarily by the authorities several times for psychiatric evaluation, which in California bars a person from possessing a gun for five years."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/06/us/06guns.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Hmmm...posted article did not mention a time limit on gun ownership.
The state estimates 20,000 persons have firearms although the law currently forbids them to own them. Based on available data, they probably have about 40,000 guns.
For years I've read gun rights advocates state "We don't need new laws - we need the laws we have enforced." I think it is safe to say that's the "NRA position." Yet when the state of California takes steps to enforce existing laws suddenly it's "confiscation."
As for the 20,000 new LEO's? That
might be accurate. If they earn $1,200 per year...
Good luck to all,
~ The Old Bookaroo