Internet Explorer 11 is not supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Despite Spending Millions, California Fails to Confiscate Guns

The Legislature awarded the California Department of Justice $24 million in 2013 to launch a three-year program to confiscate guns from owners who had lost their rights. Halfway through the effort, the department has spent 40 percent of the funds and reduced the list by only 17 percent.

More than 16,000 registered gun owners remain on a list of felons and mentally ill people who no longer can legally possess firearms in California, despite millions of dollars spent by the state to confiscate those weapons.

The Legislature awarded the California Department of Justice $24 million in 2013 to launch a three-year program to eliminate the backlog by sending newly hired agents to confiscate guns from owners who had lost their rights due to felony convictions, domestic violence actions, mental health conditions or addiction to narcotics, among other things. But halfway through the effort, the department has spent 40 percent of the funds and reduced the backlog by only 3,400 people.

Department officials told state lawmakers Thursday that they could probably reduce the backlog to 10,000 by June 2016, but that additional time and money would be needed beyond that.

The Department of Justice creates the list by cross-checking registered gun owners with records of offenses or situations that prohibit gun ownership. When Justice Department officials requested the funding, they told lawmakers that the prohibited list generally grew by about 3,000 people a year and that they did not have the manpower to keep up. They said they planned to create 50 additional positions with the money to clear the list.

There were 19,784 people on the list then. Today, there are 16,396 people on the list, a reduction of 17 percent.

 

Daniel Luzer is GOVERNING's news editor.
Special Projects