"Series" Noir
Are there loopholes in California's Assault Weapon Law?
By Jay Hector
Reporting for CalNRA.org
3 August, 2000
Like a true Film Noir protagonist, the AR-15 "series" assault weapon
seems inevitably doomed in the State of California. But like many
Noir protagonists, the AR-15 "series" assault weapon refuses to accept
the inevitable and continues to fight back against the dark forces
that seek to consume it, all the while enveloped in a murky
politically correct world steeped in fear and ambiguity. The Devil
(AK-47 "series") is also thumbing a ride into the void along with the
AR.
Just when the politicians and lobbyists who are the real power in
front of and behind the scenes in Sacramento thought their boots of
oppression had stomped the "series" assault weapons into the muck for
the last time with SB-23, somehow a pebble in the form of a California
Supreme Court order got wedged in their hobnails, and the "series"
assault weapons have managed to slip out from under their oppressors
boots to rise out of the muck and get another gasp at life.
The Roberti-Roos Assault Weapon Control Act is an enemy who turns out
to be a friend, all the while still being the enemy. What, you say,
the Roberti-Roos AWCA is a friend? Yes, if you want to buy a "series"
assault weapon now (or have bought one since the first of this year)
and actually use it as it was designed, the Roberti-Roos AWCA and its'
registration requirement (which includes stripped lower-receivers) is
your friend.
A "series" assault weapon that does not have any SB-23 assault weapon
characteristics is perfectly legal to sell, purchase or import now,
and has been legal to sell, purchase or import all year according to
the California Deportment of Justice Firearms Division. A stripped
"series" lower-receiver (an assault weapon under Roberti-Roos) or a
"series" assault weapon (without any SB-23 assault weapon
characteristics) such as a Bushmaster DCM minus pistol-grip, can still
be yours, but this situation will not go on forever.
In fact, if not for a California Supreme Court order on July 19, 2000,
which in effect said the Supreme Court decision in the Kasler vs.
Lockyer case was not yet finalized, the people of California would
have lost the ability to buy "series" assault weapons on July 29,
2000. The Supreme Court order has delayed the Kasler decision until
September 27, 2000, or until the decision itself is issued, whichever
occurs first (which could come before September 27). A window of
opportunity to buy or import a "series" assault weapon will exist
until that time. There is also the possibility of an indefinite delay
of a decision, which would further complicate the situation.
It should be an easy task to buy your "series" assault weapon, right?
Maybe not, since fear and ambiguity now come into the picture. Where
will you get your "series" assault weapon? Why not just hop into your
heap and cruise over to the nearest FFL? If you do that the odds are
the FFL will just laugh in your face and tell you go elsewhere. Some
FFLs will tell you they'd be happy to sell you one, but they just
can't get any. Others will say that even though it is perfectly legal
to buy, sell or import "series" assault weapons, there is no way they
would do it after getting "burned" by the California DOJ on the SKS
Sporter situation.
That is what is called a "chilling effect" in the legal world, a law
or practice that discourages a person from taking advantage of a
constitutionally protected right (and the people of California still
retain the right to keep and bear arms regardless of the lack of a
specific guarantee of that right in the California constitution). The
"chilling effect" on manufacturers explains why the dealers have a
very hard time even getting a lower-receiver (let alone a
pistol-gripless Bushmaster DCM rifle), since major manufacturers such
as Bushmaster and Armalite won't ship lowers or an SB-23
characteristic-free pistol-gripless DCM rifle or M15-A4T to California
regardless of the legality of purchase.
There are some dealers in California who know that what they are doing
is perfectly legal, and who will sell SB-23 characteristic-free
"series" assault weapons to you, but you must search for them with the
telephone. Once such dealer is Cold War Relics Inc. in Pacific Grove,
California. Hector Garcia of CWRI said that he attends gunshows all
over California and exhibits "series" lower-receivers for sale almost
every weekend. "Since there is heavy scrutiny of dealers by the DOJ,
BATF and local police at every show, I would not be in business very
long if what I was selling was not perfectly legal to sell, and
perfectly legal for my customers to buy. I was a little hesitant at
the beginning of the year, but I've been selling Olympic and PWA
lowers since March without the slightest problem. I'd like to sell
Bushmaster and Armalite too, but I can't get the product from them,"
said Hector.
It's nice that there are FFLs who will sell you a "series" assault
weapon, but unless you live within driving distance of such a dealer,
you will need to transfer the purchase to a local FFL for the
background-check and waiting-period. Another search will be required
to find an FFL who understands the legality of the purchase and will
allow the transfer to go through them. It would also be possible to
find an out-of-state dealer who will sell you the "series" assault
weapon (without SB-23 characteristics), but again that will require a
local FFL to handle the transfer of your import into the state.
So now you have purchased your "series" stripped lower-receiver or
"series" pistol-gripless Bushmaster DCM. What can you do with it?
Here's where the Roberti-Roos AWCA becomes your friend. Regardless of
SB-23, which went into effect on January 1, 2000, you could assemble
your lower without a pistol-grip and attach a complete upper-receiver
that is free of SB-23 assault weapon characteristics, then take it or
your pistol-gripless DCM to the range. Your rifle would shoot, but it
sure would be awkward to use and illegal as a service-rifle for NRA
Highpower competition.
When the Kasler decision is finalized and the "series" assault weapons
then fall under the Roberti-Roos AWCA, and the California DOJ conducts
a 90-day registration period (the DOJ had announced a registration
period before the Supreme Court order which the DOJ then canceled on
July 20), you're in the clear to add the pistol-grip to your
pistol-gripless Bushmaster DCM and go to a match, but only if you
register your Roberti-Roos AWCA assault weapon properly. I posed that
same question to the California DOJ Firearms Division, and they
confirmed that it would be legal to attach the pistol-grip since
Roberti-Roos does not define an assault weapon based on
characteristics.
And now for a little ambiguity. Suppose the Supreme Court decides to
rehear the Kasler case, which would postpone the decision
indefinitely, which could be October 1, or twenty years down the road.
What do you do with your stripped lower-receiver or DCM rifle? It
could never, under SB-23, be assembled with a pistol-grip since it
wasn't in that form by December 31, 1999. Period. Never. But since
the stripped lower-receiver or DCM rifle does not have any assault
weapon characteristics, you aren't required to register it. So you
could then keep it and basically let it sit until the Kasler decision
is finalized. You could also sell them out of state, or even within
the state since it would not be subject to the provisions of SB-23 as
there are no assault weapon characteristics.
Once again, at the time Kasler is finalized, the California DOJ should
announce a 90-day registration period for "series" assault weapons
under the Roberti-Roos AWCA, and at the time of registration you could
legally assemble an AR-15 "series" lower-receiver with a pistol-grip,
get a complete upper (again minus SB-23 characteristics) and be able
to use the "series" assault weapon, but only if you obey the law and
register the "series" assault weapon as required by the Roberti-Roos
AWCA.
The real goal of assault weapon laws is the disarming of the people of
California, in about 50 to 70 years, when the current crop of
registered assault weapon owners are no longer alive and their heirs
have turned them in to the police, destroyed them, or sold them to an
assault weapon dealer or out of state. At that time the state of
California will not be free of assault weapons and safe for the people
as the politicians would like the people to believe, but really free
of militia weapons that the people could use against a tyrannical
government -- a situation which is far from safe for a free people,
but quite safe for those who would infringe or destroy the rights of a
free people.
This story may be distributed freely providing credit is given the author and www.calnra.org
http://www.calnra.org/080300hector.htm
Are there loopholes in California's Assault Weapon Law?
By Jay Hector
Reporting for CalNRA.org
3 August, 2000
Like a true Film Noir protagonist, the AR-15 "series" assault weapon
seems inevitably doomed in the State of California. But like many
Noir protagonists, the AR-15 "series" assault weapon refuses to accept
the inevitable and continues to fight back against the dark forces
that seek to consume it, all the while enveloped in a murky
politically correct world steeped in fear and ambiguity. The Devil
(AK-47 "series") is also thumbing a ride into the void along with the
AR.
Just when the politicians and lobbyists who are the real power in
front of and behind the scenes in Sacramento thought their boots of
oppression had stomped the "series" assault weapons into the muck for
the last time with SB-23, somehow a pebble in the form of a California
Supreme Court order got wedged in their hobnails, and the "series"
assault weapons have managed to slip out from under their oppressors
boots to rise out of the muck and get another gasp at life.
The Roberti-Roos Assault Weapon Control Act is an enemy who turns out
to be a friend, all the while still being the enemy. What, you say,
the Roberti-Roos AWCA is a friend? Yes, if you want to buy a "series"
assault weapon now (or have bought one since the first of this year)
and actually use it as it was designed, the Roberti-Roos AWCA and its'
registration requirement (which includes stripped lower-receivers) is
your friend.
A "series" assault weapon that does not have any SB-23 assault weapon
characteristics is perfectly legal to sell, purchase or import now,
and has been legal to sell, purchase or import all year according to
the California Deportment of Justice Firearms Division. A stripped
"series" lower-receiver (an assault weapon under Roberti-Roos) or a
"series" assault weapon (without any SB-23 assault weapon
characteristics) such as a Bushmaster DCM minus pistol-grip, can still
be yours, but this situation will not go on forever.
In fact, if not for a California Supreme Court order on July 19, 2000,
which in effect said the Supreme Court decision in the Kasler vs.
Lockyer case was not yet finalized, the people of California would
have lost the ability to buy "series" assault weapons on July 29,
2000. The Supreme Court order has delayed the Kasler decision until
September 27, 2000, or until the decision itself is issued, whichever
occurs first (which could come before September 27). A window of
opportunity to buy or import a "series" assault weapon will exist
until that time. There is also the possibility of an indefinite delay
of a decision, which would further complicate the situation.
It should be an easy task to buy your "series" assault weapon, right?
Maybe not, since fear and ambiguity now come into the picture. Where
will you get your "series" assault weapon? Why not just hop into your
heap and cruise over to the nearest FFL? If you do that the odds are
the FFL will just laugh in your face and tell you go elsewhere. Some
FFLs will tell you they'd be happy to sell you one, but they just
can't get any. Others will say that even though it is perfectly legal
to buy, sell or import "series" assault weapons, there is no way they
would do it after getting "burned" by the California DOJ on the SKS
Sporter situation.
That is what is called a "chilling effect" in the legal world, a law
or practice that discourages a person from taking advantage of a
constitutionally protected right (and the people of California still
retain the right to keep and bear arms regardless of the lack of a
specific guarantee of that right in the California constitution). The
"chilling effect" on manufacturers explains why the dealers have a
very hard time even getting a lower-receiver (let alone a
pistol-gripless Bushmaster DCM rifle), since major manufacturers such
as Bushmaster and Armalite won't ship lowers or an SB-23
characteristic-free pistol-gripless DCM rifle or M15-A4T to California
regardless of the legality of purchase.
There are some dealers in California who know that what they are doing
is perfectly legal, and who will sell SB-23 characteristic-free
"series" assault weapons to you, but you must search for them with the
telephone. Once such dealer is Cold War Relics Inc. in Pacific Grove,
California. Hector Garcia of CWRI said that he attends gunshows all
over California and exhibits "series" lower-receivers for sale almost
every weekend. "Since there is heavy scrutiny of dealers by the DOJ,
BATF and local police at every show, I would not be in business very
long if what I was selling was not perfectly legal to sell, and
perfectly legal for my customers to buy. I was a little hesitant at
the beginning of the year, but I've been selling Olympic and PWA
lowers since March without the slightest problem. I'd like to sell
Bushmaster and Armalite too, but I can't get the product from them,"
said Hector.
It's nice that there are FFLs who will sell you a "series" assault
weapon, but unless you live within driving distance of such a dealer,
you will need to transfer the purchase to a local FFL for the
background-check and waiting-period. Another search will be required
to find an FFL who understands the legality of the purchase and will
allow the transfer to go through them. It would also be possible to
find an out-of-state dealer who will sell you the "series" assault
weapon (without SB-23 characteristics), but again that will require a
local FFL to handle the transfer of your import into the state.
So now you have purchased your "series" stripped lower-receiver or
"series" pistol-gripless Bushmaster DCM. What can you do with it?
Here's where the Roberti-Roos AWCA becomes your friend. Regardless of
SB-23, which went into effect on January 1, 2000, you could assemble
your lower without a pistol-grip and attach a complete upper-receiver
that is free of SB-23 assault weapon characteristics, then take it or
your pistol-gripless DCM to the range. Your rifle would shoot, but it
sure would be awkward to use and illegal as a service-rifle for NRA
Highpower competition.
When the Kasler decision is finalized and the "series" assault weapons
then fall under the Roberti-Roos AWCA, and the California DOJ conducts
a 90-day registration period (the DOJ had announced a registration
period before the Supreme Court order which the DOJ then canceled on
July 20), you're in the clear to add the pistol-grip to your
pistol-gripless Bushmaster DCM and go to a match, but only if you
register your Roberti-Roos AWCA assault weapon properly. I posed that
same question to the California DOJ Firearms Division, and they
confirmed that it would be legal to attach the pistol-grip since
Roberti-Roos does not define an assault weapon based on
characteristics.
And now for a little ambiguity. Suppose the Supreme Court decides to
rehear the Kasler case, which would postpone the decision
indefinitely, which could be October 1, or twenty years down the road.
What do you do with your stripped lower-receiver or DCM rifle? It
could never, under SB-23, be assembled with a pistol-grip since it
wasn't in that form by December 31, 1999. Period. Never. But since
the stripped lower-receiver or DCM rifle does not have any assault
weapon characteristics, you aren't required to register it. So you
could then keep it and basically let it sit until the Kasler decision
is finalized. You could also sell them out of state, or even within
the state since it would not be subject to the provisions of SB-23 as
there are no assault weapon characteristics.
Once again, at the time Kasler is finalized, the California DOJ should
announce a 90-day registration period for "series" assault weapons
under the Roberti-Roos AWCA, and at the time of registration you could
legally assemble an AR-15 "series" lower-receiver with a pistol-grip,
get a complete upper (again minus SB-23 characteristics) and be able
to use the "series" assault weapon, but only if you obey the law and
register the "series" assault weapon as required by the Roberti-Roos
AWCA.
The real goal of assault weapon laws is the disarming of the people of
California, in about 50 to 70 years, when the current crop of
registered assault weapon owners are no longer alive and their heirs
have turned them in to the police, destroyed them, or sold them to an
assault weapon dealer or out of state. At that time the state of
California will not be free of assault weapons and safe for the people
as the politicians would like the people to believe, but really free
of militia weapons that the people could use against a tyrannical
government -- a situation which is far from safe for a free people,
but quite safe for those who would infringe or destroy the rights of a
free people.
This story may be distributed freely providing credit is given the author and www.calnra.org
http://www.calnra.org/080300hector.htm