Category: Being a Stranger in a very Strange Land
California’s mandatory background check law to buy ammo went into effect on Monday, and it’s not going well. The system is reportedly running very slowly with no customer support.
“I’ve had one customer, and I had to turn them away because I couldn’t get into the system,” Don Reed, owner of DGS Ammo & Airguns in Sacramento, told ABC News. “He seemed a little bit perturbed. … There’s a lot of people feel like they’re being held hostage suddenly — punishing the people who’ve been doing it the right way.”
“So far it doesn’t work at all. My system doesn’t let me access it,” said Steve Converse of Ade’s Gun Shop.
“I can’t believe the amount of paper it wastes,” remarked Scott Emmett, the manager of the Ammo Bros store in San Diego. “This one transaction for two types of ammo was almost eight pages long.”
Emmett said the system was down for the first 45 minutes and there was no support. “I sat on the phone for about 40 minutes and no one answered.”
In 2016, California voters approved the law and it’s just now coming into play. The law requires background checks for all ammo sales, and there are three kinds of checks.
Here’s the breakdown from the California Department of Justice, which administers the law.
- Standard Ammunition Eligibility Check: This eligibility check can be used by an individual whose information matches an entry in the Automated Firearms System and does not fall within a class of persons who are prohibited from owning or possessing ammunition. A determination may be completed in approximately 2 minutes. The fee for a Standard Ammunition Eligibility Check is $1.00.
- Certificate of Eligibility Verification Check: This eligibility check may be used by individuals who have a current Certificate of Eligibility to acquire or possess firearms. A determination may be completed in approximately 2 minutes. The fee for a Certificate of Eligibility Verification Check is $1.00.
- Basic Ammunition Eligibility Check: This eligibility check can be used by individuals who do not possess a current Certificate of Eligibility to acquire or possess firearms, or do not already have information entered in the Automated Firearm System. A determination may take several days to complete. The fee for the Basic Ammunition Eligibility Check is $19.00.
If you’ve registered a firearm in California, then you’ll probably qualify for one of the first two checks that cost just $1. You’ll need a valid California Driver’s License.
But, if you’re a new shooter you’ll be waiting days to get your bullets. Oh, and you’ll have to add $19 to the cost of that box of $6 shells. At least you’ll be able to buy more ammo under the same check for 30 days.
If you’re an out-of-stater, you simply cannot buy ammo in California.
The California DOJ says the law should keep ammo out of the hands of those deemed unfit. “The eligibility checks ensure purchasers are not prohibited from owning or possessing ammunition due to a felony and/or violent misdemeanor conviction or warrant, domestic violence restraining order, or mental health issue.”
The California Rifle and Pistol Association says they are “working in the field and in the courtroom to stop these ridiculous laws.” They have filed an active lawsuit against the Attorney General, Rhode v. Becerra.
Kim Rhode, an Olympic gold medal shooter who shoots thousands of rounds every week and is negatively affected by this law, is listed as the plaintiff in the case. The National Rifle Association is also involved in this suit.
This background check law was joined on July 1st by the law banning all lead from hunting use, though it can still be used for target shooting and self-defense.
With this huge impediment to purchasing ammo, how will the Pitman-Robertson revenues be affected? If you and I go to the range, and you give me some shells to shoot, is that an illegal transfer? Will this law lead to stockpiling ammo and illegally bringing ammo across state lines?
A Franklin Park man who broke a Chicago TV news crew’s camera equipment has been sentenced to spend more time in prison than many of the city’s recent gun offenders. His is a topsy-turvy story from a town that claims to be serious about fighting gun crime.
Ismael Pereda, 47, pled guilty Wednesday to knocking over two spotlights and a news camera that an ABC7 crew had set up for a live shot near Water Tower Place around 5:15 a.m. on Dec. 23rd. The damage was estimated to be $40,000. At the time of his arrest, Pereda was AWOL from a case in which he was accused of battery and resisting police in Franklin Park.
After receiving Pereda’s plea this week, Judge Timothy Chambers sentenced him to one year in prison with 182 days credit for the time he spent in jail before entering his plea. Pereda was shipped off to the Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet on Thursday. He arrived, underwent processing, received the state’s automatic 50% sentence reduction for good behavior, and was paroled the same day, according to state records.
Nonetheless, Pereda spent far more time behind bars than most people who pled guilty to carrying firearms illegally in Chicago.
Roderick Trice was also in Chambers’ court on Wednesday. The 21-year-old was facing four felony gun charges after police said they found a loaded handgun during a traffic stop in Uptown on Nov. 23. According to police, Trice told them that “It’s an old gun and I only have it for protection. I’m trying to get my FOID (Firearm Owner’s ID card).”
In exchange for his guilty plea on one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, Chambers sentenced Trice to two years probation and 50 hours of community service. Prosecutors dropped the other three felonies.
 |
| Graham was arrested on the 600 block of North Michigan. | CPD; Google |
Recently, 21-year-old Sheldon Graham was in front of Chambers.
Graham had been charged with multiple weapons counts, including Class X armed violence and possessing a handgun with a defaced serial number after police said they found him with the pistol in a car on the Magnificent Mile last November.
He pled guilty to one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in a vehicle and Chambers sentenced him to two years of “first offender gun probation” and 50 hours of community service. Despite being charged with a Class X felony (the most serious crime category other than murder), Graham was allowed to go free after his arrest by posting a $500 deposit bond.
In another case handled by Chambers, two Indiana men each pled guilty to having a pair of firearms in a car that they were sitting in near the Magnificent Mile on June 22 last year. Chambers sentenced 25-year-old Kyle Kostro and 21-year-old Joseph Buncich to two years of “first offender gun probation.
David Williams, 24, recently pled guilty to having a loaded handgun in a Jaguar that was parked on the Hubbard Street bar strip in River North last summer and also received two years of gun probation from Chambers. Williams went free after his arrest by posting a $1,000 deposit bond.
 |
| Lancheros | CPD |
Chambers gave the same sentence to Daniel Lancheros, a 23-year-old who was accused of having a handgun while riding as an Uber passenger near Western and Foster in February 2018. Police said Lancheros is a Latin King who scored 354 out of a possible 500 on the department’s Strategic Subject’s List, which “purports to identify which Chicagoans are most likely to be involved in violence, either as a victim or perpetrator.”
But Chambers isn’t the only judge who gives gun offenders less time than the guy who broke Channel 7’s equipment.
Judge Catherine Haberkorn recently sentenced 27-year-old Jewvon Davis to 18 months probation after he pled guilty to possessing a handgun on the street in Old Town last November.
Police said in a report that Davis told them that he works in the area and he brought the gun with him from the South Side and he had been walking around looking for a guy who had threatened to shoot him.
 |
| Youkhana | CPD |
Lazar Youkhana, a retail clerk who fired “two, maybe three” warning shots while pursuing two boys who stole bottles of Hennessey from his liquor store, receive one year of probation from Haberkorn. Youkhana cut a deal with prosecutors who agreed to drop two felony weapons charges and reduce a reckless discharge of a firearm count to reckless conduct.
A Riverdale man who was found with a gun in his car during a traffic stop in Lakeview last December and allegedly told cops he carries a weapon “because it’s Chicago” was sentenced to one year of court supervision by Haberkorn recently. Valladay went free after his arrest by posting a $150 bond.
Haberkorn gave two years of “first offender probation” to 21-year-old Samuel Conley of Romeoville. Conley was arrested at North Avenue Beach last Fourth of July weekend after cops reportedly found a 40-caliber handgun with an extended magazine in his backpack at a liquor checkpoint.
Judge William O’Brien gave two years of “first offender probation” to Mario Hernandez after the 18-year-old pled guilty to flashing a handgun near Oak Street Beach in May 2018.
Zion Davis was arrested last November after a Marshalls store security officer found a loaded handgun in his jacket while processing the 18-year-old for allegedly shoplifting at the chain’s Lincoln Park location. Police said Davis admitted to purchasing the firearm from someone he met on Facebook. O’Brien allowed Davis to pled guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge and handed him a sentence of 18 months probation.
O’Brien also approved a reduced charge for 37-year-old David Rhodus, who was accused of holding a loaded handgun on his lap as he sat in a Lincoln Park bar on Feb. 4th, 2018. Rhodus, who had a FOID but not a concealed carry license, was sentenced to two years probation.
Finally, there’s the case of Indianapolis resident Lapre Apple. A group of police officers who were standing in line at a West Loop fast food restaurant noticed that the man standing in front of them—Apple—had a gun with an extended magazine sticking out of his waistband.
The officers secured the handgun and arrested Apple, who said he had a concealed carry license in his home state, but not in Illinois. Police said they found 350 suspected ecstasy pills and $3,202 cash in Apple’s pockets.
Judge Steven Watkins sentenced Apple to 12 months of court supervision after the 21-year-old pled guilty to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. Prosecutors dropped narcotics charges and three additional weapons charges in the deal.
Meet the POS Thug Memphis is Rioting Over
ADVERTISEMENT
4,316 Views
Meet Brandon Webber, the POS criminal that the city of Memphis is protesting over, because his dumb ghetto thug ass pulled a gun out on some cops, and got himself killed.
Classy fella, I know. It gets better.
Pretty much every single picture is of him flashing drug money, smoking weed, or brandishing a weapon. (And don’t tell me it’s not drug money, because something tells me you don’t pick up that much straight cash working at anything legitimate.) Smart people that get paid in cash hide it….because there’s this thing called “taxes” and shit.
Keep in mind, that he was being served in the first place by US Marshalls, because he was wanted for shooting a man 5 times and stealing his car.
This girl says it best right here….
ADVERTISEMENT
Far cry from the innocent father of two that the media and all his friends presented….
Yea, I don’t think he made a “positive impact” to the guy he robbed and shot, just saying.
Look, I’m not saying that all cops are perfect and egregious abuses of power and and bad shootings don’t occur….but why the fuck aren’t those instances the ones that the media decides to highlight?
Why pick a POS like this to jump up on a soap box about it? Oh that’s right….because creating division in our country is what the Leftist narrative is all about. It’s the cops fault this punk ass kid died, and not you know….his own shitty choices and actions or anything.
You see, Democrats don’t want people to succeed. Successful people that worked for it (not poofy, spoiled actors) tend to be conservatives. Soon as you see those taxes coming out of your check, you start questioning where they go.
Democrats want you to stay ignorant, uneducated, and live on a pitiful, meager existence of welfare so you never rise above whatever stature you were born into. Don’t get a job, or marry the father of your child or you won’t get this welfare check. Just remember to keep voting blue because the “evil” rich republicans want to take it from you.
The Left’s narrative is bullshit, don’t fall for it. And certainly don’t fall for “it’s the cops fault some thug got killed” either. If you look at the stats, it’s not even close to being the problem.
And for the record, I actually had a POS criminal cousin that subsequently died from being a POS. I can’t remember if the cops shot him, he crashed his car, or if he overdosed, because I honestly never really cared enough to remember. I wasn’t happy he died, but he totally brought it on himself. Let’s keep it real, the world’s probably a better place without him. You won’t catch me crying on the evening news about it, or lying about what a great person he was.
Personal responsibility, it’s a crazy concept…you should try it.
https://youtu.be/gfqeDVXyy0c
World War II is over and instead of the expected Depression. America enters into a Golden Age for most of its Citizens! God how green with envy am I! Grumpy