Moving to CA - weapons questions

[rtonkins]

Hello,

My Mother in law will be moving back to CA and has a number of weapons in her gun safe from her deceased husband. Out of the 14 long guns I have concerns about 7 of them. My Mother-in-law calls it my dowry :D

I have used the flow chart and think I am going to have issues with the list below. It would be great if some one can offer solutions to keep these weapon's in the family. They really mean a lot to her, shooting was something they did often together. The registration paper work was communicated over the phone so I don't have all the details on it. We do have copies of a number of DOJ applications and CA registrations.

First the weapons - then some questions below

Springfield Armory - SAR 48
~ Purchased and registered in CA in 1990

Eagle Arms EA-15 CAL 5.56
~Purchased and registered in CA 2000
~Has a push button magazine release that I will need to replace

SLR 95
~Purchased and registered in CA 1998

Romack AR-74
~Purchased and registered in CA 2000

Armalite AR-7
~Purchased and registered in CA 1999

Golden State Arms Ak-47S
~Purchased and registered in CA 1990

590 shotgun with a pistol grip



Now the questions:
If any are banned completely - can I completely disassemble and keep as "parts" until the rifle is moved out of state, CA gets its head out of its ***, or complete government collapse (whichever comes first!)?

Can I just replace the lower on any that are banned by name and make modifications to make it legal?

If the weapons were registered to the deceased, does the spouse carry any grandfathered benefits?

There are a number of 30 round magazines purchased prior to 2000 - are these grandfathered and do we have to prove they were purchased by the surviving spouse?

There are also a number of handguns, do I need to register any that were not registered in CA prior, or do I need to register in the name of the surviving spouse?

Thanks in advance for any help and guidance.

[G21Shooter]

No magazines over 10 rounds unless they are disassembled then they are okay(for now).

No semi auto centerfire rifles with a detachable magazine and any evil features.(again for now, this is going to change soon probably)

That is all I can think of, other than that you shouldn't have any problems.

[Chaos47]

Once a firearm is a RAW (Registered Assault Weapon) it can not be transferred or inherited in CA without first being deregistered.
So no, there is no benefit extended to spouses or anyone that could inherit them.
In fact technically if your mother in law brings them back into CA she would be committing multiple felonies per AW just by having them in her possession and transporting them. Yes, the law is that messed up.

Because of that in a way it is good that these are already out of the state because if they where not you would have an issue about getting them out of the state.

There are two basic kinds of firearm categories that are banned in CA under the AWB.
Those that are banned by name and those banned by configuration.
The firearms you listed are mostly banned by name.

Problem is no amount of configuring can make a banned by name firearm legal again in CA.
Since they are out of the state they will need to stay out of the state. (at least the receiver that is the serialized firearm part federally)

If they where in CA already these are the options:
Either be turned into the police... yea right! Thats not a real option.
OR
Have their receivers destroyed. (Then parts can be rebuilt on new Off List receivers. If possible, some such as the SAR-48 might be too exotic or too valuable to do this to)
OR
Moved/sold out of state by using an FFL with an AW Dealers Permit. (Note exposing for sale an AW is a felony without the use of a AW Dealer, also transporting an AW is a felony)

Please see the 2nd page of the Flow chart for a list of banned by name firearms:
http://www.calguns.net/caawid/flowchart.pdf

Firearms that you list that might be banned by name are: (Again I say MIGHT it has to be the exact make and model so every marking on the rifle must be examined)

Springfield Armory: BM59, SAR-48
Eagle Arms: EA-15 A2 H-BAR, EA-15 E1 - What are your exact markings?
Arsenal: SLR (all) - This might be your SLR-95
Ohio Ordnance Works: ROMAK 991 - This might be your Romak AK-74 again need exact markings
Made in China: AK, AK47, AK47S, AKM - Could include your Golden State, I think Golden State was one of the importers


These firearms above if they are infact listed and banned by name can not be made legal by adding a magazine lock or removing features.

The Armalite AR-7 is not a listed AW or an AW by configuration. It could be deregistered and transferred.
The pistol grip on a 590 is not a concern.

The other firearms that are not listed AW's could be deregistered (if they are registered) and made legal by configuration such as adding a magazine lock or removing features.



Now the questions:
If any are banned completely - can I completely disassemble and keep as "parts" until the rifle is moved out of state, CA gets its head out of its ***, or complete government collapse (whichever comes first!)?
They can not be moved back into the state as they are. They would have to be taken apart and have the receivers left outside of the state.

Can I just replace the lower on any that are banned by name and make modifications to make it legal?
Yes, you could rebuild them with OLL (Off List Lowers) and then make them legal by configuration

If the weapons were registered to the deceased, does the spouse carry any grandfathered benefits?
No, none at all

There are a number of 30 round magazines purchased prior to 2000 - are these grandfathered and do we have to prove they were purchased by the surviving spouse?
No "large capacity magazines" are generally legal by being possessed in CA prior to Jan 1st 2000 (BTW that is a gross oversimplification) they can not be inherited after that date. Also some do not agree with this. BTW the large-capacity magazine law is a separate section of law then from the AWB please read here to learn more: http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=387409
Burden of proof rests on the prosecution.. he could have gifted you those magazines in CA prior to Jan 1st 2000...

There are also a number of handguns, do I need to register any that were not registered in CA prior, or do I need to register in the name of the surviving spouse?
To be transferred handguns do not need to be registered at all or even registered in the name of the transferer.

Thanks in advance for any help and guidance.

I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice. Just a friend passing some info on.
Your family needs to get in contact with a California firearms lawyer and go over all of the RAW's and see what can be done for each.