Governor signs law to allow agents to seize guns from 20,000 Californians who have been disqualified from owning them California plans to confiscate guns from 20,000 people who bought them legally but have since been disqualified because of criminal or psychiatric problems, boosting the…
California governor signs law funding seizure of legally purchased guns
Thousands of Californians have made legal purchases of handguns or assault rifles, but have since become ineligible from owning them due to mental illness or a criminal conviction. The measure, SB 140, will provide the funds for agents to find these individuals and confiscate their weapons.Mark Len (D-San Francisco), author of the new legislation, said California has a system that tracks cases in which gun owners became disqualified from keeping their weapons, but has always lacked the funds to go after them.“We are fortunate in California to have the first and only system in the nation that tracks and identifies individuals who at one time made legal purchases of firearms but are now barred from possessing them,” he said in a statement. “However, due to a lack of resources, only a few of these illegally possessed weapons have been confiscated, and the mountain of firearms continues to grow each day.”In a three-year period, about 20,000 Californians owning about 40,000 weapons became ineligible to keep them, according to the state’s Bureau of Firearms. The $24 million in surplus funds, which comes from fees paid when Californians purchase weapons, will provide dozens of agents the means to find the illegally owned firearms. “This bipartisan bill makes our communities safer by giving law enforcement the resources they need to get guns out of the hands of potentially dangerous individuals,” Evan Westrup, a spokesman for the governor, told the Los Angeles Times.But opponents of the new legislation are disturbed that the money for the gun seizures comes from fees inflicted upon lawful gun buyers.“Going after criminals is a good thing, but the way they are paying for it is grossly unfair,” Sam Parades, executive director of Gun Owners of California, told the LA Times, arguing that the program should be paid for by the state general fund. “They are putting the entire burden on the back of law-abiding gun purchasers.”Assemblyman Brian Jones (R-Santee), told the Huffington Post that the surplus funds should be used to conduct background checks, not to hunt down gun owners.“For example, if you go to the DMV and pay for a driver’s license, that fee is for possessing the driver’s license, not for setting up sting operations for catching drunk drivers,” he said. “If the legislature wants to raise extra funds for the DOJ, it would have to impose a tax on firearm sales, which requires a two-thirds vote.”Some Americans have taken a stand against what some call an unconstitutional attempt to disarm people.But lawmakers who backed the new measure believe California will become a role model in regards to gun control, and that other US states will soon follow in its footsteps. Garen Wintemute of the Violence Prevention Research Program told Bloomberg News that as many as 200,000 people in the US possess firearms but are no longer qualified to own them.In 2012, California Attorney General Kamala Harris seized about 2,000 weapons, 117,000 rounds of ammunition and 11,000 high-capacity magazines. And with $24 million to track down disqualified gun owners, the state of California is now working to seize 40,000 more. … Read More
Californians Sign Petition For Nazi Takeover
http://www.youtube.com/v/S0Qobbn6880?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata See the original post: Californians Sign Petition For Nazi Takeover
Los Angeles–Los Angeles!–No Longer Attracting Immigrants
In the public policy basket case that is my
native state of California, one of the most underrated of the many
mind-blowing statistical measures of decline is the fact that–for
the first time in recorded history–a
majority of the Golden State’s residents were born there. Which
helps explain, among other things, why California in 2010, again
for the first time,
failed to pick up a seat in the House of Representatives. A
state whose very identity and economic engine were founded on
attracting dreamers from elsewhere has not really come to grips
with the fact that it is no longer doing that anymore.
Well, here comes an even ruder shock: Not only are a majority of
residents native-born across the entire state, a majority of
residents are native-born in that
immigration-destination-within-an-immigration-destination,
Los Angeles:
By the end of the year, the majority of residents in Los Angeles
County will be native Californians for the first time in recorded
history, ;according
to a recent report. And the share of residents who are native
Californians is expected to increase to nearly two-thirds by
2030.
The report, released by University of Southern California’s
Population and Dynamics Research Group, shows a reversal of the
long-running influx of immigrants into the city. [...]
“It’s an extraordinary moment in Los
Angeles history–everything we know about L.A. will change,” said
report co-author Dowell Myers in a statement. [...]
Chapman University urban theorist Joel Kotkin – ;on
a panel that discussed the recent findings ;– said the
decline in the number of immigrants is connected to the suffering
local economy, which has been stagnant for about a decade. That
decline, he believes, will undoubtedly have ramifications for the
city.
“You can go back to Athens, Baghdad, London, Berlin in 1900, New
York in the early part of the century and L.A. more recently, they
were made and recreated from someplace else,” Kotkin said. “When
you lose that and in such a dramatic way, I think it’s going to
have some effect on the dynamism.”
Researchers also found that – as with immigrants – fewer people
from other U.S. states are drawn to California, prompting concerns
that the Golden State will be unable to meet its needs in the
future for labor.
Reason on California
here. Link via the Twitter feed of Joseph
Mailander. … Read More
Supreme Court posts audio of oral arguments in Prop. 8 case
The Supreme Court posted audio and transcripts on Tuesday of oral arguments heard in the case of Hollingsworth v. Perry, which argues that California’s Proposition 8, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman, is unconstitutional. Proposition 8, which Californians ratified in the…
Hundreds of thousands of Californians face tsunami risk: report
More than a quarter of a million Californians live in coastal areas which could be hit by devastating floods from a major tsunami in the quake-prone US state, a new study says. The US Geological Survey (USGS) study, published to mark Tsunami Awareness Week, says tidal waves of eight meters or more…
Wal-Mart is an aphrodisiac!
Turns out multinational big-box behemoths really get Americans in the mood.
According to an analysis of “missed connections” on Craigslist, lots of singles are experiencing love at first sight at Wal-Mart — not for the latest entertainment center on sale, but for fellow discount shoppers. It was the most popular “missed connections” location in 15 states. I guess it’s time to add low prices and the homogenization of culture to the list of the world’s proven aphrodisiacs.
Dorothy Gambrell, a cartoonist and graphic designer, put together an infographic for Psychology Today based on the last 100 “missed connections” ads in each state. The result is an orgy of stereotypes: Californians fell for strangers at 24 Hour Fitness; whereas Kansas favored McDonald’s (there’s nothing like the smell of a deep fryer to get you in the mood). Of course, New Yorkers spotted fantasy mates all romantic-comedy-like on the subway and Nevadans at the casino. Curiously, most “missed connections” in Indiana happened “at home.” (I’m trying to imagine what those ads are like: “Looking for mysterious stranger caught peeking in my window”? “Saw you on TV giving bunny ears to the local newscaster”? )
