Little-Acorn
Gold Member
Remember the bill that Governor Moonbeam signed some months ago, setting up squads to go after gun owners whom the state didn't think should own guns?
They weren't kidding.
Remember that "people barred from owning firearms" includes people going through an ordinary divorce, including a divorce where there has been no violence, no threats, no harrassment, and no complaints about any. Judges routinely hand out "restraining orders" against husband and wife both, ordering them not to stalk, harrass, or commit domestic violence against the other. Purely routine, not a big deal, you understand.
Except... the late and not-so-honorable Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) added an amendment to a Federal law that said anyone who was under a restraining order that mentioned "domestic violence", was hereby forbidden to own firearms.
California divorcees, better look out your window. Especially at night (see below).
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California Department of Justice agents sweep Fresno, Clovis for illegal guns | Crime | FresnoBee.com
California Department of Justice agents sweep Fresno, Clovis for illegal guns
By Jim Guy
The Fresno Bee
November 16, 2013
The sign in the window warned burglars that the homeowner owned a handgun and would use it in self-defense. The state agents knocking on the door were there to confiscate the weapon.
The agents are part of the California Department of Justice's Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS), a program that takes firearms from people barred from owning them. The law says that group can include ex-felons and people deemed to be mentally unstable.
Often arriving in SUVs and dressed in black tactical uniforms, the teams regularly sweep through California cities with a list of names and addresses.
It was Fresno's turn last week.
Thursday night, the agents went to the home near Roeding Park to collect a Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol from a woman who had been evaluated under California Welfare and Institutions Code 5150 as a danger to herself and others. As such, she had been ordered to surrender any firearms in her possession and had not.
As is often the case, the agents were told that the weapon was not there and the woman's father-in-law had it in Bakersfield.
But that won't be the end of the search, according to Kisu Yo, a special agent who was part of the team making the sweep.
"There's no such thing as safe-keeping (by another family member)," Yo said.
Team members say they are dogged: They will press a prohibited person to allow them to search a home to look for the gun and ask to see the paperwork if they are told a weapon has been sold.
If agents are denied the search but have reason to believe they are being lied to, they will seek a warrant and lock down the house until they get results.
"That can make for a long night," said Michelle Gregory, a spokeswoman for the Department of Justice.
Long nights are part of the job for the 33 agents who make up the APPS teams. They work evenings and nights because they are more likely to find people at home during those hours. They work in teams because they often have to approach darkened homes where there is likely to be an armed person inside.
"It really is a dangerous job," said Yo, a Marine Corps veteran of the first Gulf War. "Every time we make a contact, it's a very dangerous situation."
They weren't kidding.
Remember that "people barred from owning firearms" includes people going through an ordinary divorce, including a divorce where there has been no violence, no threats, no harrassment, and no complaints about any. Judges routinely hand out "restraining orders" against husband and wife both, ordering them not to stalk, harrass, or commit domestic violence against the other. Purely routine, not a big deal, you understand.
Except... the late and not-so-honorable Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) added an amendment to a Federal law that said anyone who was under a restraining order that mentioned "domestic violence", was hereby forbidden to own firearms.
California divorcees, better look out your window. Especially at night (see below).
----------------------------------------
California Department of Justice agents sweep Fresno, Clovis for illegal guns | Crime | FresnoBee.com
California Department of Justice agents sweep Fresno, Clovis for illegal guns
By Jim Guy
The Fresno Bee
November 16, 2013
The sign in the window warned burglars that the homeowner owned a handgun and would use it in self-defense. The state agents knocking on the door were there to confiscate the weapon.
The agents are part of the California Department of Justice's Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS), a program that takes firearms from people barred from owning them. The law says that group can include ex-felons and people deemed to be mentally unstable.
Often arriving in SUVs and dressed in black tactical uniforms, the teams regularly sweep through California cities with a list of names and addresses.
It was Fresno's turn last week.
Thursday night, the agents went to the home near Roeding Park to collect a Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol from a woman who had been evaluated under California Welfare and Institutions Code 5150 as a danger to herself and others. As such, she had been ordered to surrender any firearms in her possession and had not.
As is often the case, the agents were told that the weapon was not there and the woman's father-in-law had it in Bakersfield.
But that won't be the end of the search, according to Kisu Yo, a special agent who was part of the team making the sweep.
"There's no such thing as safe-keeping (by another family member)," Yo said.
Team members say they are dogged: They will press a prohibited person to allow them to search a home to look for the gun and ask to see the paperwork if they are told a weapon has been sold.
If agents are denied the search but have reason to believe they are being lied to, they will seek a warrant and lock down the house until they get results.
"That can make for a long night," said Michelle Gregory, a spokeswoman for the Department of Justice.
Long nights are part of the job for the 33 agents who make up the APPS teams. They work evenings and nights because they are more likely to find people at home during those hours. They work in teams because they often have to approach darkened homes where there is likely to be an armed person inside.
"It really is a dangerous job," said Yo, a Marine Corps veteran of the first Gulf War. "Every time we make a contact, it's a very dangerous situation."
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