Buzz Hayes Photo

Give an inch, and they’ll take a mile. A slippery slope. Death by a thousand cuts. By whatever name you call it, Democrats in California have mastered the art of chipping away at constitutional rights. That’s what’s taking place right now in the Golden State where last week, Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the state wants to raise the cost of an ammunition background check (that’s right, in California, you have to have a background check just to buy ammunition) from $1 to $5.

Of course, the fee increase is to cover the cost of doing the background checks Bonta says, checks that consumers never asked for and that the government imposed upon them in the guise of safety, but it’s just one of the reasons why such legislation is so egregious in the first place. It’s also a textbook example of why you can’t trust any politician who masks gun restrictions as “gun safety” and acts incredulous when citizens argue against their proposals despite them calling their restrictive policies “common sense” gun rules. But they aren’t common sense. They never are if you are actually aware of the issues and how the laws will later be applied.

The laws certainly won’t stop a person from buying a gun—or ammunition in this case—if they have the intent to wreak harm. Such laws, will however, make it more expensive for Californians to enjoy hunting, recreational shooting, competition shooting and defending themselves. It will make it particularly more costly and difficult for those people in our society who, as Kamala Harris likes to say, have not received “equitable treatment.” Assuming this means “disadvantaged” and in disadvantaged meaning “disadvantaged economically,” then they are some of the people who need to be able to defend themselves the most as by being economically disadvantaged they typically by default live in the most dangerous and crime-ridden neighborhoods. (It makes you wonder how serious Harris and Bonta really are about the welfare of those they proclaim to be the champions for?)

Here is part of Bonta’s pitch to California gun owners since it is the only person it will affect:

Prior to the passage of Proposition 63 of 2016 (The Safety for All Act) and Senate Bill No. 1235 (SB 1235) (Reg. Sess. 2015-2016), the sale or transfer of ammunition was not regulated in California. Although Penal Code section 30305 prohibited an individual from owning or possessing ammunition if they were prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm, the Department had no mechanism to regulate the sale of ammunition. Proposition 63 and SB 1235 authorized the Department to complete an ammunition eligibility check or to verify that an individual’s Certificate of Eligibility (COE) is valid when the individual purchases or transfers ammunition from or through an ammunition vendor. 

As authorized by Penal Code section 30370, subdivision (e), the Department’s current regulations established a $1.00 fee for a Standard Ammunition Eligibility Check (SAEC) and $1.00 fee for a COE Verification check. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 11, §§ 4282, 4285.) This fee has not been sufficient to cover the Department’s operating costs for the ammunition authorization program.

Effective January 1, 2024, the Department may raise the fee for a SAEC and COE Verification check to cover the reasonable regulatory and enforcement costs for operating the ammunition authorization program. (Pen. Code, § 30370, subd. (e).) The proposed regulation raises the fee for a SAEC and COE Verification check from $1.00 to $5.00.

But this is how anti-gun politicians fulfill their agenda literally at “any cost.” They can’t stop gun ownership legislatively or in the courts because this annoying little legal thing called the Second Amendment, the one our founding fathers believed was important enough to put right behind our freedom of speech, religion, the press or to assemble. So, they pass administrative laws that charge fees. And when they do it, they call it a “nominal” fee, simply to help offset the costs to enforce the restrictive law they passed. But then, that fee virtually always increases, the goal being to price people out of being able to exercise their rights and tax into oblivion what they can’t legislate.

And that my anti-gun friends (OK, as I think about it, I don’t know that I have any serious, like “go out and protest” anti-gun “friends.” That might be kind of hard to deal with on a daily basis. I did meet this chick in college who leaned hard left on the issue, but damn, she was so hot, I could forgive her for one night…but I digress. The truth is, currently, I do know some whiners, and I definitely have some weak-spirited, squeamish on the issue friends and relatives. We can’t all be the rare-breed sheep dogs. The world has to have its sheep…and sadly, wolves, as well.) But anyway, that is why supporting more gun legislation doesn’t work. 

What on the face of an argument might seem like it would be “common sense,” when it comes to politics, is always fraught with deceptive traps beneath the surface.

So far at least in California, Bonta’s price increase isn’t the rule, yet. His proposed change must undergo a 45-day public comment period. The public has until 5 p.m. on Oct. 8, 2024, to submit comments regarding “the proposed regulatory action.” Here’s more details from the Bonta-gram:

This rulemaking is undergoing a 45-day public comment period. Any person or their authorized representative may submit written comments regarding the proposed regulatory action. The written comment period closes at 5:00 pm on October 8, 2024. All timely comments that specifically pertain to the proposed regulations will be reviewed and responded to by Department staff. Comments may be submitted by mail or email to:

  • Mail written comments:

Department of Justice
P.O. Box 160487
Sacramento, CA 95816

The information below relates to recent rulemaking activity, including links to the regulations text and associated documents. Any person who has submitted a comment regarding a proposed action has the right to request a copy of the Final Statement of Reasons. The Final Statement will also be posted to this webpage upon completion of this rulemaking. 

Public Notice and Related Documents

While I assume, the intent is to hear what the “public” in California has to say, since California feels it has the right to impose its rules on other states in a variety of matters, I feel like every gun owner in America has a right to submit comments and their thoughts to the addresses above. Let your voice be heard. 

We know it won’t likely sway the state’s decision to charge more. This is the opportunity that has been in the works all along, but we can still be as much of a pain in their arse in the process. We can’t ever stop the fight.

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33 COMMENTS

    • Average Gun Control History illiterate Americans fall for Gun Control because they do not know anything more about Gun Control than what the media and Gun Control zealots have told them. Since it’s a given Gun Control zealots like harris/walz are never, ever going to Define Gun Control by its History it is left up to Gun Owners to educate the public. Therefore my response to California’s insane third reich level appetite for Gun Control is the following…
      https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZFEz3Bt9hCw&feature=shared

  2. CA can pound sand. The people got what they voted for. Don’t like it? Tough, change it. Or not. But stop whining about it. Those of us who live in Free States don’t care. Just don’t bring your brand of shit here

    • …… you do realize they will and in large numbers until you or your descendants are bitching about it right? Kill it everywhere or live with it next door until it comes for you.

      • That actually opens up an interesting attack on the tax itself –

        If they were able to perform a go-no go check for one lousy dollar, there’s zero reason why the background check for actual guns shouldn’t be at least as inexpensive…

    • Not all of us voted for those POS in Sacramento, certainly not people who are pro gun. We didn’t leave the State as well because we believe it is worth it to fight the fight.

      So, either help us in out fight or get your commentary out of the way.

  3. Because of this unconstitutional law I, as a non CA resident CANNOT purchase any ammunition in the state of CA. I have family in SD and travel to southern CA several times a year. The CA DROS system only processes CA ID’s. Also. If you as a CA resident can ONLY buy ammo in a CALIBER of weapon you have REGISTERED in the DROS system. If you have a .45 ACP not registered but a 9mm registered you can’t buy .45 ACP ammo but CAN buy 9mm ammo. Also what most people don’t know if you move and the DROS system isn’t updated with your current address you will be denied even though you aren’t a prohibited person. The worst part is that it can take up to 6 MONTHS or more for the DROS system to update your NEW address. An audit found tens of thousands of people were denied ammo purchases who were NOT prohibited from buying guns or ammo and had no criminal records.

    • The quickest way to update your information is to buy another gun, they did not foresee the unintended consequences of that, as most people I know simply bought another gun to update their info. Also, it does not limit the caliber you can buy, based on your current registered arms. That is a myth. The law still sucks and just don’t give them further ideas.

    • For all involved in your state does it cover reloading materials? Obviously wouldn’t help as much with 9mm and 5.56 but just about everything else evens out quickly enough even with monthly range trips.

      • No, reloading materials are not covered. You can still buy online. Primers have been spotty in supply and few times I have bought them you get f-d with hazmat fees. Most of the high volume stuff 22LR, 9MM and 5.56 I bought in bulk, before the background check law. I tried to set myself as to never buy again in Cali and pay the background fee. But I traveled 70 miles to a range with nephew and grand nephew and forgot to bring ammo, now I’m in the system. So I have done a little top off of 22lr and some shotgun occasionally.

    • The wheels of bureaucracy turn very slowly unless greased with folding green.

      And bureaucracies are very expensive to run. Hence the price rise. It will in future have revenue targets and contributions to general revenue which will cause further price hikes.

    • Then don’t buy ammo in California. I live here and I don’t. I have an FFL 03 and a COE and buy online. If you shoot several times a year the cost of renewing your COE every year and your FFL03 every three years (If memory serves) is recouped from the savings you get. Ammo in Ca, even without the background check fees are expensive. I wait for sales and buy in bulk.

    • I don’t know about nonstate residents, but state residents can purchase any claimer of ammunition they like. There is nothing in the statute that says otherwise. All the statute says, for residents, is that you have to have at least one firearm registered at your current address. (Which means if you move you need to buy another gun, as far as I know.)

  4. we should start charging a tax to go to the polls as we-oh.

    “why would someone want to bully thousands of rounds of ammunition at once?”–some idiot lib

    • I just love reading news articles where they report,; in shock it would seem, that the arrestee had “thousands of rounds” of ammunition–and it turns out that he had a cache of .22s Back before Obama, I never bought less than 1000 rounds of .22 at a time and 500 rounds of 9mm. Then the whole world went wonky, and when on line sales were banned, plus the dem presidents and governors, ammo became prohibitive. So far, though, reloading supplies are not regulated.

      • Even downunder I buy .22LR by the brick (10 packets of 50 rounds each). And I buy 2 bricks at a time, so that is 1000 rounds. In my ammo locker I would have about 20 bricks, plus other calibers.

  5. Taxing people to fund an entirely unnecessary bureaucracy made up out of thin air designed to hinder their exercising of a freedom.

    Government in a nutshell.

  7. Skrewit! Have a weekend in Vegas. Not even an id check. Drive and buy as much as you want. Fly and you can bring back 11 pounds in a bag. 22 if you have a friend. 44 if you have a friend and 2 kids with bags.

    • “Skrewit! Have a weekend in Vegas. Not even an id check. Drive and buy as much as you want.

      Not so easy, as I understand it, the CHP makes notes on Cali vehicles returning home from free states and then checking them for contraband…

      • Pay in cash and purchase at the beginning of your trip. Also, don’t buy from stores at the border. If you are from San Francisco, don’t buy from the Cabelas at Verdi,NV. Go further in.

        Or, do it legally and get an FFL 03 and a COE.. you can purchase as much as you want out of state and bring it back to California.

  8. @Cali AG Wants to Jack Up Ammo “Background” Check Fee”

    “The law certainly won’t stop a person from buying a gun—or ammunition in this case—if they have the intent to wreak harm.”

    We, the 2A defenders/supporters/the people need to get over this idea; it is an eneffective meme/mantra/talking point. The intent of law is to guide the law-abiding as to what is “legal”; law is all about punishment, not deterrence. For those unconcerned about “deterrence”, no human-made law can modify intent/behavior.

    Maybe we should be focused on retaining the ability to apply punishment when we are attacked?

  10. Tim Walz caught lying about “weapons of war” (no surprises there, this Kamala emotional support moron is a liar plain and simple for just about every thing) and Venezuelan gangs terrorize while Kamala giggles ( note: the democrat Colorado Gov. Jared Polis say’s these armed illegal i̶m̶m̶i̶g̶r̶a̶n̶t̶ invading criminal Venezuelan terrorist that entered the country illegally by use of Biden-Harris intentionally open and insecure border, the ones you see in the video, Polis says they are ‘imaginary’ —– for about the 10,000’th time in the last 30 days the typical radical extremist left wing ‘Wizard of Oz’ protocol implemented “pay not attention to the man behind the curtain, listen to what we say instead”)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTHL7j5z7IY

  11. Gun Controllers Take Aim To Eliminate another 2A company (to go after body armor – but of course they do, they don’t want law abiding people to have a chance of survival when the governments ATF heavily armed Tac (AKA ‘Tactical Assassination Cadre’) Teams shows up to ‘murder’ someone else like they did to Bryan Malinowski, or when the heavily armed IRS bean counter Tac (AKA ‘Tactical Assassination Cadre’) Team decides sending a letter in the mail that you owe taxes isn’t enough but instead they need to show up with guns, or when the USDA heavily armed Tac (AKA ‘Tactical Assassination Cadre’) Team shows up to say you can’t raise chickens for sale, or when the heavily armed U.S. Department of Education shows to take away your pencil erasers ’cause they say so, or when Joe Biden or Kamala Harris decides to use the military to kill innocent American citizens for exercising their constitutional rights like Joe has threatened to do, or when Tim Walz decides once again its time to use heavily armed police and militarily forces armed force against innocent citizens on their own front porches like he did in Minneapolis neighborhoods miles from the actual protest zone.)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlosbmjRCN0

  12. WILD 2A LAWSUIT FOR $$$$: POLICE SUED OVER LOST 2A GUN RIGHTS

    A Federal District Court allowed a civil lawsuit to move forward against police officers whom plaintiff alleged violated his right to keep and bear arms under 2A. Mark Smith Four Boxes Diner discusses the opinion.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IG4b_qfYaw

  13. Heard my first Kamala ad yesterday where she said Trump would end the Department of Education. Talk about poorly spent ad dollars! Sure looks like she wants to put Trump back in office.

  15. Stop complaining you got legal butt sex and drugs in california. You can have sex in public. In front of schoolchildren and do it without fear of being arrested.

    You can urinate and defecate in public. And they won’t arrest you. Especially during the pride parades. Because that is part of their culture.

    And the government gives you “free” pot and “free” beer.

    So why are so many people complaining???

  16. Taking money from people is the source of power and control for kings and tyrants,we fixed this problem once,painfully obvious what time it is.

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