2 Bad Days = Lifetime Gun Ban: CA's New Law 8103 WI

California has been stripping gun rights away from its residents non-stop for decades. California recently enacted a new provision within 8103 WI (Welfare and Institutions Code) that states you are banned from possessing a firearm if you have been detained on a psychiatric hold twice within one year.

5150 x 2 = Lifetime Ban

California has a code that many people are familiar with... 5150 WI. Country singer Dierks Bentley sang about it in his song 5-1-5-0, Van Halen had the album 5150, and you can see it incorporated into a personalized license plate in just about any state.

California's 5150 law states that anyone that is a danger to themselves, others or are gravely disabled may be taken into custody on a 72 hour hold. Usually they are taken to a county psychiatric facility and are evaluated. There, they can receive the help they need while the person is in crisis.

As a retired California police officer, I used 5150 frequently. As cops, we come across people at the worst moments of their lives. I also know that many of these people have situations that are temporary. After all, we are human and not without fault. I've used 5150 on people that contemplated suicide, but a few months later they are back to normal.

Sometimes people called on themselves. They needed help and didn't know where to go. We were there for them and tried to help them in their time of need. There should be no stigma if you need help.

California's Lifetime Gun Ban

On January 1st, California enacted a supplemental section to 8103 WI. Buried at the bottom of the code is a few new paragraphs. Essentially, if you had a terrible day, felt like you wanted to kill yourself and said something to someone and the police were involved, they will take you into custody on a 5150 hold. One hold, under the new law, will cause a 5 year ban on owning or buying a gun in the state of California. The law specifically states:

(f)(1)(A) A person who has been (i) taken into custody as provided in Section 5150 because that person is a danger to himself, herself, or to others.... shall not own, possess, control, receive, or purchase, or attempt to own, possess, control, receive, or purchase, any firearm for a period of five years after the person is released from the facility.

It gets worse. Two bad days in a year and you will be barred from owning a firearm for the rest of your life. Read more about it below:

(B) A person who has been taken into custody, assessed, and admitted as specified in subparagraph (A), and who was previously taken into custody, assessed, and admitted as specified in subparagraph (A) one or more times within a period of one year preceding the most recent admittance, shall not own, possess, control, receive, or purchase, or attempt to own, possess, control, receive, or purchase, any firearm for the remainder of his or her life.

Good Intentions or an Infringement?

This new law will not protect Californians. It will only keep people that need help from getting it. I'm sure some people will think we should "Keep guns from crazy people." But, people detained under 5150 WI are not crazy. At least a majority aren't. These are veterans, firefighters, business people, even cops, that have had a bad day. Some are fighting PTSD, some depression, divorces, loss of a child, you name it. Many of these issues are temporary, can be treated, and are common in our society.

How This Will Be Tracked

Under 8103 WI, the facility where the person was detained will submit a form to CA DOJ about the person's detention. They will also notify the person detained that a 5 year ban on gun ownership is in effect and a lifetime ban is in effect if it is their second detention in a one-year period.

(2)(A)(i) For each person subject to this subdivision, the facility shall, within 24 hours of the time of admission, submit a report to the Department of Justice, on a form prescribed by the Department of Justice, containing information that includes, but is not limited to, the identity of the person and the legal grounds upon which the person was admitted to the facility.

(ii) Any report submitted pursuant to this paragraph shall be confidential, except for purposes of the court proceedings described in this subdivision and for determining the eligibility of the person to own, possess, control, receive, or purchase a firearm.

CA DOJ Is Seizing Guns

We've previously written about California's DOJ Bureau of Firearms (BOF) and their constitution shredding tactics. Some people may not know this, but CA DOJ gets reports constantly on who is a prohibited person and they check to see if that person has firearms. There are several people they go after that are horrible people. However, DOJ BOF has shown repeatedly that they go after law abiding citizens. Besides arresting Californians for buying standard capacity magazines in Nevada, these will be the people taking firearms away from people that had a bad day.

No Due Process

8103 WI does not give you due process. Someone can falsely say that you told them you wanted to kill yourself (I've seen this and I'm sure people have been successful in their vengeance) and you can be taken in pursuant to 5150 WI. When you are released, you are now prohibited for 5 years from gun ownership. Once more and it is for life. How can you clear your name?

The people that run this page are career law enforcers. We do not agree with this and it is a clear infringement of peoples Second Amendment rights. It also stigmatizes people that need our help. Most of these encounters are temporary problems. People are resilient and can recover. We shouldn't take their guns forever.