ACCESS + TRANSFER

[krwada]

OK ... Here is my very first start thread here at Calguns.

A little about my background before my question 1st.

I grew up in the middle of "red-neck" Central Valley California. About 25+ years ago, I decided that there was no viable gun culture here in the SF Bay Area, and I decided to put away all of my firearms in a safe place where my children or others could not get at them.

I also made a pact with my wife that we would not mention the location of said firearms.

25+ years passed, my family is now all grown up, we are pretty much empty nesters, and I decide about 3+ years ago to take my stuff out of storage, get me a reloading press and get back into full firearms ownership mode...

Much to my surprise .. I guess, I was not paying attention.... I feel like Rip Van Winkle ... and a whole ton has changed!

Currently, I have a class-03 C&R license.
I am considering getting a COE ... however, I am not certain how useful that will be.

There is a whole raft of gun legislation ... all anti-gun that is really confusing and almost incomprehensible!

One of the most glaring things I notice, is that all of this legislation is crafted in such a way to limit transfer, transport and access.

So here are my questions:
1. Where can I find information in a plain clear concise format? I have a quite a few guns and do not wish to become an inadvertent felon.

2. So far, the language of most of the laws address access and transfer ... there appears very little in the way of "if you own a firearm ... we will knock down your doors and confiscate them!" ... it appears to not be this way so far ... for now ... So another question is; are there anything in the works by the CRPA, or NRAILA that address the ACCESS language?

I have also recently have become a life member of the NRA, and currently have a five(5) year membership with the CRPA.

I also donate to both of these organizations, and to a lesser extent Calguns whenever I can. Also, as you can see by my sig-line ... I do contribute to this fine forum also.

Thanks!
krwada

[stix213]

Did you check what legislation was signed/vetoed on friday? Most of the worst bills were vetoed. Not sure if that is what you're referring to. The transfer/access stuff sounds like SB 374 after RAW registration (vetoed), but you could be referring to something else.

You could look over at the Calguns Foundation wiki if you want something to read through with a lot of info all in one place.

http://wiki.calgunsfoundation.org/Main_Page

If you have specific questions, this forum is a good place to (usually) get the correct answer.

[hornswaggled]

Welcome aboard. One thing that may bite you is the assault weapon laws that were passed back in the late 90s early 2000. Check the AW flowchart if you have any AR\AK variant rifles from back in the day.

[Librarian]

Really, the three major things from 25 years ago are

1) Since 1991, almost all transfers must use an FFL; there are essentially no face-to-face transfers allowed, outside direct family.

2) Since 1990, some previously legal rifles, and since 2001, some previously legal configurations of similar rifles, have become illegal unless registered. If you've been ignoring your guns for all that time, probably you did not register.

3) Transporting handguns requires they be unloaded and in a locked case; trigger lock etc. does not count. Transporting long guns in vehicles remains unregulated, except school zones where Feds want them locked. Transporting long guns OUT of vehicles IN cities requires a case.

[krwada]

Really, the three major things from 25 years ago are

1) Since 1991, almost all transfers must use an FFL; there are essentially no face-to-face transfers allowed, outside direct family.

2) Since 1990, some previously legal rifles, and since 2001, some previously legal configurations of similar rifles, have become illegal unless registered. If you've been ignoring your guns for all that time, probably you did not register.

3) Transporting handguns requires they be unloaded and in a locked case; trigger lock etc. does not count. Transporting long guns in vehicles remains unregulated, except school zones where Feds want them locked. Transporting long guns OUT of vehicles IN cities requires a case.

Thanks for your reply. Actually, I have had my firearms stored since the early 1980's. I have pretty much ignored everything since that time.

Does this mean that I am a felon?

I do have a few pistols in my collection. I just inherited them a couple of years ago when my Father passed away. Do I need to register these?

My biggest concern is if I go ahead and register ... and the government finds out through the registration process, that I never registered ... then BAM! I could go to jail no?

If this is the case ... then I may be better off just taking my chances.

[skyhanger00]

I think they will not convict you if you turn over your unregistered "assault weapons" voluntarily. Just don't show up at the police office all decked out with those guns and expect them to greet you with a smile. I think some kind of appointment needs to be made.

I know that really sucks to lose your old friends, but that's the current legal way. I haven't really analysed if its legal to transfer unregistered assault weapons OUT of California.

There's always the option of identifying which guns of yours are illegal and digging a hole to bury it. If those arms were untouched for 25 years, it's likely they won't be touched for another 25.

I live in the SF Bay Area, and there's a gun culture here. At least we like to see ourselves as 2nd Amendment warriors deep in enemy territory and on the front lines. It will be just as big of a travesty if your kids grew up to be gun grabbers too.

[skyhanger00]

California DOJ website

Looks like moving an unregistered AW is a crime in itself. It's a risky proposition just to save a few hundred bucks. Your best option is to contact a lawyer and arrange for a surrender of your illegal weapons, based on whatever descriptions of assault weapons CA currently goes by.

If you want, you can disassemble and salvage parts while surrendering the receiver/lower receiver for destruction. That's the part considered the gun by the authorities. Those salvaged parts can be sold secondhand as parts or be used to build a new legal firearm.

[stix213]

Thanks for your reply. Actually, I have had my firearms stored since the early 1980's. I have pretty much ignored everything since that time.

Does this mean that I am a felon?

I do have a few pistols in my collection. I just inherited them a couple of years ago when my Father passed away. Do I need to register these?

My biggest concern is if I go ahead and register ... and the government finds out through the registration process, that I never registered ... then BAM! I could go to jail no?

If this is the case ... then I may be better off just taking my chances.

You need to click on the "CA Semiauto Ban(AW)ID Flowchart" link toward the top of every page, and step through it. Since your firearms date from the 80's, you'll need to focus on the list of banned makes/models. If a firearm matches a make/model on the list, you have a banned AW that can only legally be owned if it was registered within the registration window, which has long ago closed. You cannot register a banned assault weapon now, so don't try. Do not transport the firearm anywhere as you drastically increase the chances of trouble, including to the police station unannounced!

If you do have a banned by make/model firearm, do one of two things:

* Contact a quality gun lawyer, they will talk you through your options which may include arranging to have the firearm turned over to the police without charges
* Destroy the receiver of the firearm (serialized part) on your own

If the banned firearm is something like an AR, you should be able to buy an off list receiver and transfer all the parts over to it. Only specific makes/models are banned, all off list receivers are legal as long as you follow one of two legal configurations. The easy way is to go with the off list receiver and then install a bullet button and then never use 11+ round mags in that firearm, but that isn't the only option.

All your other firearms check that they are in legal configurations. For rifles, that's on the same flowchart. Pistols and semi-auto shotguns have their own flowcharts.

[krwada]

I think they will not convict you if you turn over your unregistered "assault weapons" voluntarily. Just don't show up at the police office all decked out with those guns and expect them to greet you with a smile. I think some kind of appointment needs to be made.

I know that really sucks to lose your old friends, but that's the current legal way. I haven't really analysed if its legal to transfer unregistered assault weapons OUT of California.

There's always the option of identifying which guns of yours are illegal and digging a hole to bury it. If those arms were untouched for 25 years, it's likely they won't be touched for another 25.

I live in the SF Bay Area, and there's a gun culture here. At least we like to see ourselves as 2nd Amendment warriors deep in enemy territory and on the front lines. It will be just as big of a travesty if your kids grew up to be gun grabbers too.

My children, already grown adults are not gun grabbers. My eldest served in Iraq in the USMC. My youngest was active with the Scouts and the Marine Corps JROTC program.

I have heard of this self-registration program. I will most likely check this out.

[krwada]

California DOJ website

Looks like moving an unregistered AW is a crime in itself. It's a risky proposition just to save a few hundred bucks. Your best option is to contact a lawyer and arrange for a surrender of your illegal weapons, based on whatever descriptions of assault weapons CA currently goes by.

If you want, you can disassemble and salvage parts while surrendering the receiver/lower receiver for destruction. That's the part considered the gun by the authorities. Those salvaged parts can be sold secondhand as parts or be used to build a new legal firearm.

I checked the AW flow chart. I do not have any Assault weapons.

[krwada]

You need to click on the "CA Semiauto Ban(AW)ID Flowchart" link toward the top of every page, and step through it. Since your firearms date from the 80's, you'll need to focus on the list of banned makes/models. If a firearm matches a make/model on the list, you have a banned AW that can only legally be owned if it was registered within the registration window, which has long ago closed. You cannot register a banned assault weapon now, so don't try. Do not transport the firearm anywhere as you drastically increase the chances of trouble, including to the police station unannounced!

If you do have a banned by make/model firearm, do one of two things:

* Contact a quality gun lawyer, they will talk you through your options which may include arranging to have the firearm turned over to the police without charges
* Destroy the receiver of the firearm (serialized part) on your own

If the banned firearm is something like an AR, you should be able to buy an off list receiver and transfer all the parts over to it. Only specific makes/models are banned, all off list receivers are legal as long as you follow one of two legal configurations. The easy way is to go with the off list receiver and then install a bullet button and then never use 11+ round mags in that firearm, but that isn't the only option.

All your other firearms check that they are in legal configurations. For rifles, that's on the same flowchart. Pistols and semi-auto shotguns have their own flowcharts.

Most of my stuff dates to the 1960's and much much earlier. I do not have any assault weapons. I did recently inherit a couple of pistols. My Father passed away. One of these pistols is dated 1877.

[Librarian]

I checked the AW flow chart. I do not have any Assault weapons.

There you go; that was likely the only problem.

[krwada]

There you go; that was likely the only problem.

Thanks... all my long guns are bolt guns. They are all pretty old. I still enjoy shooting them however.

I recently purchased a Ruger 10/22. I always wanted one of these since I was little. I did one of those FFL transfers when I purchased it... When I did this FFL transfer, only then did I realize how much things have changed since so long ago.

I remember being able to purchase .22LR ammo when I was eleven(11) years old. I realize those days are long gone now.