I was literally arrested for trying to turn a gun into the CA DOJ. They handcuffed my wife and roommates and raided my house while I was in jail.
Through this whole process, they found a 22 rifle missing a stock they classified as an SBR. We showed them emails from the manufacturer saying they received the broken stock and a new one was on the way but it didn't matter.
Not cool, man.
My saving grace was on the way to jail. I told the special agent I called them to come check out the gun. He said he'd look through the records and if it was true, it wouldn't get past a misdemeanor.
A fucking misdemeanor for trying to do the right thing.
It cost me $3500 for a good lawyer who got it dismissed in the pre-trial.
I thought it was over.
~18 months later a cop knocks on my door, tells me I have a warrant for possession of an assault weapon and takes me to jail again…
…and also took ALL my firearms into police custody.
I had to pay another lawyer $4,000.
Apparently the DA wanted to close some cases and they didn't care about me calling it in anymore because at the end of the day I was in possession of an assault weapon and possibly an SBR. It was an easy case in their eyes.
My fucking mom, man. Both my parents. They were scared to death. Could you imagine YOUR kid going through all this?
My lawyer basically threatened to take it public about how ridiculously they were overstepping to arrest a 2x combat veteran and purple heart recipient (all the buzzwords).
He got it dismissed in pre-trial but the judge said they could open it again.
After getting the proper approvals, I was able to get my guns back…except 1…because its features had become illegal while in police custody.
To add salt to injury, they decided not to give me the accessories either. $1200 Aimpoint, $350 trigger, and a ton of other custom parts. I built that entire rifle and it was my pride and joy.
Oh and the original rifle, which was bought from a reputable shop in Sacramento, CA, was never proven to be an assault weapon in court. A firearms expert witness in previous trials told me it wasn't an assault weapon, and several lawyers have told me it likely wouldn't hold up in court as-is unless it was modified.
I'm sharing my story because the government will ALWAYS overstep and when they do, it's because the opportunity came after the frog's been boiled.
A restriction on standard magazines for guns manufactured after July 1 is exactly what “boiling the frog slowly” looks like.
We all have our own communities to protect from people who wish them harm. My brothers are gay furries, one is potentially trans, my wife and her family are Muslim, some of my best friends are immigrants…
…if some hate-group (govt-sponsored or otherwise) is going to be in your community, you shouldn't have to wait 5 days to get protection if you don't have a criminal record, and women should be able to borrow a friend's firearm if they've got a crazy stalker or abusive ex-bf.
If you allow these California-style restrictions to go through without pushback, you are sending a signal to your politicians that says “more of this please.”
If you're extremely anti-gun, that's probably what you want.
But if you're an average everyday American who is not extremely anti-gun, and you recognize that my story could be experienced by your kids one day and that thought makes you a little uneasy… (remember, I called them FIRST and I have the police report to prove it)
Please call your local congressperson. Email them. Contact them and tell them to vote no on these gun laws.
I agree with some of the laws…but if they want those lesser-extreme ones passed, they can't just ram through a ton of restrictive legislation.
If we start to adopt these California-style restrictions, I promise you, you're going to become unhappy and you're going to seriously consider moving out of state because you won't recognize it anymore, just like many other Californians.
***I know this story is insane and unbelievable. I also have this feeling in my gut telling me not to post the entire police report unless there's a strong reason to do it that can help the cause. However, I'm going to post bits and pieces. I would love to get this all out to an organization that can do something productive with it.***
" and more like "ah you buncha goofballs, whatta ya doin' here 
"
