From our State Senator
Keeping illegally owned guns off our streets
October 2011
Keeping illegally owned guns off our streets
October 2011
One of the most important measures we can take to protect public safety is to keep firearms out of the hands of people who are prohibited from owning them due to criminal activity or mental illness. Unfortunately, there are more than 18,000 convicted felons and mentally ill persons in California who illegally possess firearms, and this list grows by about 15 to 20 people each day. In the Bay Area alone, more than 2,500 people who once made legal purchases of guns now own them illegally due to subsequent issues that disqualify them from possessing weapons.
Although California is the first and only state in the nation to build an automated system for tracking handgun and assault weapon owners who pose a threat to public safety, the state needs additional resources to keep up with the growing number of illegally possessed firearms. With only 20 agents statewide specifically tasked with disarming individuals who have lost the right to own a gun, state and local law enforcement officials simply do not have the human resources or funding necessary to confiscate the enormous backlog of weapons, nor can they keep up with the daily influx of newly prohibited persons. To deal with this problem, I introduced Senate Bill 819, which addresses this troubling blind spot in our enforcement of firearms laws. SB 819 allows the California Department of Justice (DOJ) to use existing resources to enhance the identification and confiscation of handguns and assault weapons that are owned by convicted felons and mentally ill persons. The bill, which is sponsored by California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, recently passed the Legislature and is now on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk.
SB 819 authorizes the DOJ to use funds from the Dealer Record of Sale account (which is made up of fees collected on gun purchases and transfers) to enforce the department’s existing Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) program. The APPS program maintains information about persons who legally purchased and registered firearms but who have since been prohibited from possessing them. This additional funding will provide the DOJ, in collaboration with local law enforcement, the resources needed to track individuals on the APPS list and take more of these illegally possessed weapons off the streets.
Innocent lives have been lost because we allow guns to be in the hands of known criminals, gang members, and people who have serious mental illnesses. I am very proud to have worked closely with the attorney general in drafting SB 819. Giving law enforcement officials the tools they need to confiscate dangerous weapons is a crucial step in the ongoing effort to protect our communities.
Senator Mark Leno represents the Third Senate District of California, which includes portions of San Francisco and Sonoma Counties and all of Marin County. www.senate.ca.gov/Leno
Although California is the first and only state in the nation to build an automated system for tracking handgun and assault weapon owners who pose a threat to public safety, the state needs additional resources to keep up with the growing number of illegally possessed firearms. With only 20 agents statewide specifically tasked with disarming individuals who have lost the right to own a gun, state and local law enforcement officials simply do not have the human resources or funding necessary to confiscate the enormous backlog of weapons, nor can they keep up with the daily influx of newly prohibited persons. To deal with this problem, I introduced Senate Bill 819, which addresses this troubling blind spot in our enforcement of firearms laws. SB 819 allows the California Department of Justice (DOJ) to use existing resources to enhance the identification and confiscation of handguns and assault weapons that are owned by convicted felons and mentally ill persons. The bill, which is sponsored by California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, recently passed the Legislature and is now on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk.
SB 819 authorizes the DOJ to use funds from the Dealer Record of Sale account (which is made up of fees collected on gun purchases and transfers) to enforce the department’s existing Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) program. The APPS program maintains information about persons who legally purchased and registered firearms but who have since been prohibited from possessing them. This additional funding will provide the DOJ, in collaboration with local law enforcement, the resources needed to track individuals on the APPS list and take more of these illegally possessed weapons off the streets.
Innocent lives have been lost because we allow guns to be in the hands of known criminals, gang members, and people who have serious mental illnesses. I am very proud to have worked closely with the attorney general in drafting SB 819. Giving law enforcement officials the tools they need to confiscate dangerous weapons is a crucial step in the ongoing effort to protect our communities.
Senator Mark Leno represents the Third Senate District of California, which includes portions of San Francisco and Sonoma Counties and all of Marin County. www.senate.ca.gov/Leno
