With the stroke of a pen, California’s Governor turned all bullet button firearms in the state into so-called “assault weapons”. I say so-called since the “assault weapon” definition was manufactured by the gun grabbing elite and it is subject to change based only on the whim of whatever administration owns it. What was just a normal rifle is now too dangerous and deadly to own – at least not without an additional license and registration fee paid to the State.
For those of us in California, we know an “assault weapon” is just a semi-automatic, centerfire rifle with a detachable magazine and one or more “evil features” like a pistol grip or adjustable stock. Of course, the exact definition changes depending on your geography. In the now defunct federal “assault weapons” ban, you needed two or more evil features, and bayonet lugs were considered evil as well. (I’m guessing the media just never reported on the ravages of gang drive-by bayonetting.) New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Massachusetts all have their own versions; with Massachusetts recently updating their definition to include firearms with parts that are interchangeable with previously defined “assault weapons”.
California firearm owners now face a dilemma for 2017. Register their bullet button firearms as California “assault weapons” or go featureless. Some are eager to register with the understanding this will allow them to finally remove the bullet button and run their firearm like it was intended. The problem is, that may not be the case. Nothing from the State so far has positively confirmed what will be permissible or even which of the newly invented add-ons will be allowed. What we do know for sure is registration comes with far more draconian restrictions on storage, transportation, use and the inability to sell or hand your firearm down to a descendant. As of now, there is a path to de-register it, make it featureless and as such, transferable – but we’ll come back to that later.
Going featureless means swapping out those dreaded “evil features” and making your modern sporting rifle look a little less scary and more like any other rifle. After all, its just cosmetics and does nothing to impact the actual operation of the firearm. While this avoids the dreaded “assault weapon” registration, it gets really expensive, really quick. Featureless parts or modifications can easily add $100 to $500, or more to each firearm you own. But then, you will be able to take off that foolish bullet button.
Assembly Bill 1663
One of the bills that didn’t make it into law in 2016 was AB1663. This bill removed the “evil features” criteria for centerfire, detachable magazine fed firearms. This would have redefined rifles such as the vintage M1 carbine and Mini-14 Ranch Rifle as “assault weapons”. Good news for now, but you can be absolutely certain this will be back in 2017 or 2018 or 2019 or until it is passed. Note: These firearms are already defined as “assault weapons” in some other states.
Remember that part about de-registering your “assault weapon” to make it featureless and transferable? Once all featureless rifles are considered “assault weapons”, there will be no more de-registering and no more transferring of featureless rifles.
Rimfire
One of the few safe havens of California firearms has always been the rimfire, the most common being the lowly little .22 LR. To date, California’s “assault weapons” laws have always specified only centerfire. Rimfire firearms have been exempt and can have all the “evil features” their older cousins cannot. The question you need to ask is how long will this be true? Consider that the word “centerfire” has already been removed from other states’ “assault weapons” descriptions. Also consider the firearm reportedly used to kill five people in the September 23, 2016 shooting at the Cascade Mall in Washington was a simple wood stock Ruger 10/22. The fact that the shooter used a 25 round magazine will be irrelevant to the gun banners here in California.
There have been calls to outlaw all registered “assault weapons” in California on more than one occasion. That call will come around again, but most likely not until every possible firearm is already included in that classification. At that point, one more signature makes them all go way and turns their previously legal owners into felons.
So where does it end? The answer is it never will. There is one and only one end goal of the gun grabbers; the elimination of private firearm ownership. The elitists in California like to believe they have the higher moral obligation to lead the nation on creating pointless laws that only restrict law-abiding citizens from owning firearms and ammunition.
Each of us must choose how we respond to the new “assault weapon” laws by registering, going featureless, taking our firearms out of the state or turning them in. None of the options are ideal and all just put off the eventual total ban that is unquestionably in our State’s future.
We can only hope that the upcoming United States Supreme Court will help strike down some of these anti law-abiding citizen laws.
Bob
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