Has the AW ban ended for California?

M

marine

New member
I thought that Federal superceeded state laws, but the left coast country of California has some really tough laws on the books. For existing weapons, are large cap mags ok now? If you purchase a normal looking weapon, does it still have to be registered as "assault weapon" if in fact anyone in Calif could buy one?. There was a cut-off date on registering AW, after which no more AWs could be registered. After the cut-off date, all such AW are considered illegal. Is this date now obsolete? Then there is the Calif law which states that the existing normal looking AW can not be bought, sold, given away, or inherited. Then again, maybe the Fed law does not override the Calif state laws on AW. Wouldn't supprise me. The mixing of the Fed "ban expired" law with the existing Calif law is pretty confusing. But for us living in Calif maybe its simple:NO, no you can't, forget it, no way, etc etc.
So my question is - has anybody in Calif benefited from AW expiration?
If Kerry had kept his mouth shut on the subject, he may have picked up a few more votes. But he opened it up. And the guy with a set bal#s on him picked up the votes that Kerry shows he doesn't need. As they say in California, Kerry just another girli-mon. Heh heh
Mac
 
m:
"Has the AW ban ended for California?"
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No. It remains in effect. Same goes for several other states with similar laws.
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"I thought that Federal superceeded state laws...."
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False. State and federal laws are co-equal in legal principle. The U.S. Constitution defines areas where the state has jurisdiction, and areas where the fedgov has jurisdiction. The federal courts have been 'filling in the gaps' almost entirely in favor of the fedgov, vastly expanding federal powers. However, there have also been a number of victories for states' rights as well.
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"If you purchase a normal looking weapon, does it still have to be registered as "assault weapon" if in fact anyone in Calif could buy one?"
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Generally speaking, no. A 'normal-looking weapon' does not fall under the state assault rifle ban. It is illegal to buy a banned weapon in Calfornia, so you will not likely find one for sale in your local gunshop. There are California-legal versions of assault weapons, like the Colt Sporter version of the AR-15. They are not considered assault weapons under the state law.
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"There was a cut-off date on registering AW, after which no more AWs could be registered. After the cut-off date, all such AW are considered illegal. Is this date now obsolete?"
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No. It is too late to register a 'pre-ban' assault weapon in California. If you have one and it is unregistered, you are committing a felony.
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"So my question is - has anybody in Calif benefited from AW expiration?"
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Not really. Maybe prices on some 'assault weapons' will drop some, and LEOs, who can buy anything they want, might benefit from that. But for the peons, no benefit that I can see. :(
 
As a California resident stated so poignantly on THR: "I feel like a Jewish kid on Christmas day." :(
 
Ought-six - I was hoping for just one little thing that was positive - what a bummer. Our only hope here in Calif is to move out, or move our politions out. Doesn't look good. If the Terminator Gov actually took office as the Pres, it still wouldn't make any difference.
Anyway, thanks for update.
Mac
 
Well, I asked this before and didn't get an answer, so I'll ask it again here since this thread is about Cali laws. I read the Cali state level AWB and it said that >10-round mags were illegal for centerfires. Since the federal ban is now dead, does that make rimfire (10/22) >10-mags legal in Cali? :confused: Looking for confirmation by someone who knows that the're talking about.
 
To answer the original question, if pertaining to the Fed. AWB, yes, it did end for California. If you have one of the federally defined previously banned items, you will not be prosecuted in federal court in CA. Of course, you may still be in violation of CA state laws that are still fully in effect.

To build on what Ought-Six said about laws being co-equal between states and the fed, in the US it is legal to sell hard liquor under federal law, given various tariffs, licenses, etc. With that said, states and municipalities may disallow sale of said items within their domains or under particular conditions. If states could only enact laws as dictated by the federal government, then there would be no reason for state laws. One of the things the founding fathers and many other smart people realized was that it was exceedingly difficult to create universal laws that covered many different regions, ethnic groups, etc. As a result, they gave states the right to continue with many of their own laws so long as the laws didn't violate certain covenants such as the Constitution. This gave the states the ability to micromanage that which the federal government could not. This process passed down for some types of laws all the way down to the municipal level.

Of course, you could argue that and AWB would be in violation of the second amendment and hence not valid in California. That horse has been beat to death and has not stood up to sufficient testing in the courts. The federal AWB ended because of a stipulated deadline, not because of some sort of Constitutional issues.
 
And it just got worse for Californians. Arnold signed AB50, the ban on the 50 BMG rifle, this evening. :(

I don't own one, but that doesn't matter. It's another hit.
 
50 BMG being a major crime hazzard

And I'll bet a lot of those 50's were used in drive-bys, bank robberys, gangs, hold-ups, etc. Man the crime rate in Calif should really go down now. Too bad the terminator is such a girli-mon. Sounds like a case of the terminator being influenced by the hairy chested Feinstein. In any event, make no mistake. All owners of firearms of any kind in California will continuously be targeted by the political lawyers who hold office in this state, until all privately owned firearms are illegal (except for the politicans and their bodyguards, drivers, etc). Woops - I think I just described a "police state". Call in the UN.
Mac
 
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