California Assault Rifle ban

[Old Hobo]

California law as I understand allowed the grandfathering-in of previously-possessed "assault rifles". CA has banned "assault rifle" sales, with some CA cities having their own statutes. Given this situation, to what degree are these laws being enforced? Anybody up on this topic? Me, I've not read about confiscations nor about a bunch of folk being arrested. Today, I read about such and will give the link below. I attempted searches with differing search engines but have not found any other cases. So, to you folk in the know, please inform me if you have information pertaining to the enforcement of these California laws regarding "assault rifles". Thanks much!

"LA County Deputy charged with possession of 'assault weapon,' tracer ammunition"

https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/...ssession-of-assault-weapon-tracer-ammunition/

"A Los Angeles County deputy has been charged with unlawfully possessing an assault rifle and tracer ammunition.

" 'While I support the rights afforded to us under the Second Amendment, I also respect the laws of our state. It is illegal to possess an AR-15 assault rifle in California and I expect everyone, including sworn officers, to follow the law," District Attorney George Gascón said. "These weapons have repeatedly led to massive loss of life across this nation and I fully intend to enforce the ban in Los Angeles.'

"Prosecutors charged Garmon with two felonies: possession of an assault weapon and possession of a destructive device."

 

[LiveLife]

California law as I understand allowed the grandfathering-in of previously-possessed "assault rifles"

Yes, grandfathering of previously possessed "assault weapons" occurred several times over the decades to register them for legal ownership, initially by brand name then later by features and these are known as RAW or "Registered Assault Weapon".

Once you have a RAW, you can keep the "registered assault weapon" in your possession legally with additional features that would make other rifles "assault weapon" such as flash hider, collapsible stock, etc.

So if someone is charged with possession of an "assault weapon" means they were in possession of a qualifying "assault weapon" by brand name/features that wasn't "registered" to him/her as possession of "registered assault weapon" in your name is legal.

From CA Attorney General's website FAQ on assault weapon - https://oag.ca.gov/firearms/regagunfaqs#4

4. Can assault weapons still be registered?

... no. The public registration periods for assault weapons ... ended several years ago as follows:​

• Category 1 AW: must have been owned by 12/31/1991 and registered by 03/31/1992
• Category 2 AW: must have been owned by 08/16/2000 and registered by 01/23/2001
• Category 3 AW: must have been owned by 12/31/1999 and registered by 12/31/2000

If you didn't register qualifying "assault weapon" by deadlines, you had to sell them in state, out of state or remove the features to make them "featureless" to make them legal for possession inside CA. Below exception of making a RAW into "regular" featureless firearm only applies to Category 3 AW.

14. If the characteristics that make my firearm a category 3 assault weapon are removed, can I cancel the registration? Can I sell it as regular (non-assault weapon) firearm?

Yes. If the defining characteristics establishing a firearm as a category 3 assault weapon are removed, it is no longer an assault weapon and the registration may be canceled. However, once the registration is canceled, you can never replace the characteristic(s) that make it an assault weapon, or you will be in possession of an illegal weapon. To cancel an assault weapon registration, contact DOJ at (916) 227-2153. Once the registration has been canceled, the firearm can be sold or transferred like any other firearm (non-assault weapon).​

 

[Frank Ettin]

...to what degree are these laws being enforced? ...

The Legal Forum is about what the law is and how it works, not how likely one is to be prosecuted.