Hello,
I have a question with regard to Std. Cap magazines in Ca.
The story:
I was in Turners last night browsing. They had an SU-16 there and I asked the clerk how they were selling compared to the mini14.
The clerk responded that the mini was selling better but they had a guy in the store the other night looking at the SU16 until they had to kick him out.
So, of course I had to ask why?
Turns out the guy in question had brought some 30-rnd AR mags in (unloaded) and was attempting to insert them in to the SU16 to see if they would indeed fit. Thats why they kicked him out.
"Whats so wrong with that?" I asked.
The clerk responds that they are banned in California (which I knew of course).
"But weren't the ones you posessed prior to the ban grandfathered in? Perhaps this dude has a registered AR at home and just wanted to make sure the SU16 would accept the the grandfathered mags he already had?"
"Well you NEED receipts to PROVE that you owned those mags prior to the ban, this guy didn't have any. How were we to know whether or not he just got back from Nevada with them?" responds the clerk.
Getting sucked in, I responded "Well, if you believe you're innocent until proven guilty, isn't the state's problem to prove that you didn't own them prior to the ban?" At this point, every other clerk looked up at me and an awkward silence seemed to settle over everbody in the shop. It was weird and made me feel kinda uncomfortable.
Some other clerk pipes up "Well, not in Ca when it comes to magazines"
"OK, well I guess everyone is entitled to their own interpretation of what is and is not legal under the current laws and is responsible for any potential consequences." I said, trying to end the conversation.
The orginal clerk pipes in again, "Besides, its illegal to use a grandfathered magazine in a post-mag-ban rifle anyways."
"It is?"
"yep"
"OK, thanks for letting me browse. Have a good night".
So I left the store. A bit frustrated and a bit confused. This is not the first time that things have gotten awkward when talk of std. cap mags come up in a gunstore here in CA. Is there some unwritten rule that this is a very taboo subject that should never be mentioned?
I understand that the gunshops can set their own policy and can see how they would take the extremely paranoid view so they don't end up in a lawsuit if some bubba does get caught bring 30 rnd mags into the state or being busted by some undercover DOJ agent. It would just be nice if they would either give accurate information or refer people to the DOJ website to a good firearms attorney when what is/isn't legal questions come up.
So, does anybody know of anyone being prosecuted and convicted of posessing >10 rnd magazines for failing to provide proof (receipts) that they owned them prior to mag-ban as a standalone case. In other words imagine if a cop would have been in the shop when the dude in question was checking out the SU16. Has anyone been arrested in a similar situation?
And someone please tell me the bit about putting a grandfathered mag in a newly purchased rifle/pistol is absolute rubbish? I wanted to tell the clerk that is the most assine thing I've heard.
It would seem to me that this law could be successfully challenged and overturned in court due to its inherent un-enforcability. Its kinda like the Los Angeles gas-powered-leaf-blower ban. A bunch of gardners ran out and converted their blowers to run on methanol. When one got busted, a judge ruled that it was too difficult for police to tell the difference between gas vs methanol blowers and struck down the law. Could we do something similar with the mag ban? Or would it backfire and would we end up with something worse (i.e. complete ban w/ no grandfather clause)?
just some thoughts
drc
I have a question with regard to Std. Cap magazines in Ca.
The story:
I was in Turners last night browsing. They had an SU-16 there and I asked the clerk how they were selling compared to the mini14.
The clerk responded that the mini was selling better but they had a guy in the store the other night looking at the SU16 until they had to kick him out.
So, of course I had to ask why?
Turns out the guy in question had brought some 30-rnd AR mags in (unloaded) and was attempting to insert them in to the SU16 to see if they would indeed fit. Thats why they kicked him out.
"Whats so wrong with that?" I asked.
The clerk responds that they are banned in California (which I knew of course).
"But weren't the ones you posessed prior to the ban grandfathered in? Perhaps this dude has a registered AR at home and just wanted to make sure the SU16 would accept the the grandfathered mags he already had?"
"Well you NEED receipts to PROVE that you owned those mags prior to the ban, this guy didn't have any. How were we to know whether or not he just got back from Nevada with them?" responds the clerk.
Getting sucked in, I responded "Well, if you believe you're innocent until proven guilty, isn't the state's problem to prove that you didn't own them prior to the ban?" At this point, every other clerk looked up at me and an awkward silence seemed to settle over everbody in the shop. It was weird and made me feel kinda uncomfortable.
Some other clerk pipes up "Well, not in Ca when it comes to magazines"
"OK, well I guess everyone is entitled to their own interpretation of what is and is not legal under the current laws and is responsible for any potential consequences." I said, trying to end the conversation.
The orginal clerk pipes in again, "Besides, its illegal to use a grandfathered magazine in a post-mag-ban rifle anyways."
"It is?"
"yep"
"OK, thanks for letting me browse. Have a good night".
So I left the store. A bit frustrated and a bit confused. This is not the first time that things have gotten awkward when talk of std. cap mags come up in a gunstore here in CA. Is there some unwritten rule that this is a very taboo subject that should never be mentioned?
I understand that the gunshops can set their own policy and can see how they would take the extremely paranoid view so they don't end up in a lawsuit if some bubba does get caught bring 30 rnd mags into the state or being busted by some undercover DOJ agent. It would just be nice if they would either give accurate information or refer people to the DOJ website to a good firearms attorney when what is/isn't legal questions come up.
So, does anybody know of anyone being prosecuted and convicted of posessing >10 rnd magazines for failing to provide proof (receipts) that they owned them prior to mag-ban as a standalone case. In other words imagine if a cop would have been in the shop when the dude in question was checking out the SU16. Has anyone been arrested in a similar situation?
And someone please tell me the bit about putting a grandfathered mag in a newly purchased rifle/pistol is absolute rubbish? I wanted to tell the clerk that is the most assine thing I've heard.
It would seem to me that this law could be successfully challenged and overturned in court due to its inherent un-enforcability. Its kinda like the Los Angeles gas-powered-leaf-blower ban. A bunch of gardners ran out and converted their blowers to run on methanol. When one got busted, a judge ruled that it was too difficult for police to tell the difference between gas vs methanol blowers and struck down the law. Could we do something similar with the mag ban? Or would it backfire and would we end up with something worse (i.e. complete ban w/ no grandfather clause)?
just some thoughts
drc
