Another California DOJ SNAFU

Miss the “Assault Weapon” Registration Deadline?  Here’s How to Stay Out of Jail

NRA and CRPA attorneys have prepared an informative bulletin for gun owners unable or unwilling to register their “bullet-button” firearms as “assault weapons.” This information bulletin provides summaries of the legal options available to gun owners besides registration and additional information on how to handle any potential contacts by DOJ agents or local law enforcement.

DOJ’s Impossible Registration Process and Failed “Assault Weapon” Registration System

Sunday, July 1^st, the deadline to register a firearm as an “assault weapon” has come and gone. If you did not register your bullet-button firearm with CA DOJ, whether by choice or because the online-only registration system wouldn’t let you, you now have limited options to avoid potential criminal charges for continued possession of your lawfully acquired property.

Considering the obstacles to registering, and the DOJ’s history of failing to inform gun owners of their responsibilities under the law it is likely that tens of thousands of California gun owners unwittingly became criminals at the stroke of midnight on July 1.

Following the closure of the registration period, CRPA received complaints from hundreds of individuals who were unable to register their firearms because DOJ’s online registration system couldn’t handle the volume of traffic it received. Constant website crashes and errors plagued DOJ’s online registration system for weeks leading up to the registration deadline, and DOJ didn’t fix it. Because DOJ only provided an electronic means of registration, it was impossible for those who faced these technical obstacles to register their firearms.

Service Members Screwed

Because many members of the military were required to leave their personally owned firearms at home while on deployment, they were not able to take or provide the required photographs of their firearms for online registration. And for those who somehow managed to obtain the required photographs, they were still faced with CA DOJ’s online registration system consistently crashing.

Service members who will soon return from deployment now face criminal penalties simply because they were unable to register or are otherwise unaware of the changes made to California law. Their personally owned firearms now classified as “assault weapons” carry a potential felony conviction, all because they were deployed to protect and serve our county.

NRA and CRPA attorneys are currently reviewing the situation and will be contacting DOJ for additional clarification on these issues. To stay informed, make sure you are subscribed to NRA and CRPA email alerts. And be sure to visit the NRA-ILA California dedicated webpage at www.StandAndFightCalifornia.com and the CRPA website at www.CRPA.org.