California: Urgent: Contact the DOJ TODAY to Voice your Concerns with DOJ’s Proposed Firearm Safety Certificate Regulations

The California Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently considering public comments on a package of proposed permanent regulations to implement California’s Firearm Safety Certificate (FSC) and “safe-handling” requirements. As drafted, the proposed regulations impose overly burdensome and unworkable requirements on California gun owners, retailers and certified instructors. 

On November 18, 2015, a dealer representative association, FFLGuard, submitted a detailed response to DOJ, including several suggested revisions to the proposed regulations. NRA and CRPA lawyers and staff worked with dealers throughout the state and with FFLGuard to make those comments as comprehensive as possible. NRA and CRPA have also submitted their own comments.  We urge you to review each of these comment letters and contact the DOJ to voice your concerns today.  

It is critical that DOJ hears from you before the comment deadline expires on November 24, 2015 at noon.  You can also attend a public hearing on the regulations on November 24, 2015 between 10:00AM-12:00PM at the Resources Building Auditorium, 1416 9th Street, Sacramento, California 95814.

As firearm owners may recall, pursuant to Senate Bill 683, the DOJ was required to adopt formal regulations for the FSC and safe handling requirements before January 1, 2015. The NRA and CRPA were actively involved in reminding the DOJ of their obligations concerning the adoption of formal regulations prior to the January 2015 deadline. However, the DOJ failed to adopt timely regulations, and did not begin to implement any regulations until NRA and CRPA brought litigation.

A portion of DOJ’s proposed permanent regulations are provided below:

1. All certified instructors (CIs) must apply for a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) upon application and reapply for a COE each year;
2. CIs must have access to a personal computer, printer, internet connection and major credit card (no cash or checks) in order to issue FSCs;
3. CIs must retain completed FSC test answer sheets and make them available upon request by any peace officer, or authorized DOJ personnel, even if they are no longer working for the licensed dealer where the FSC test was taken; and
4. Only individual CIs who issued the original FSC may issue a replacement FSC via the Firearms Certification System to the original FSC holder.

After reviewing all of the proposed regulations, FFLGuard consulted with NRA, CRPA, experts, lawyers and numerous firearm dealers and certified instructors before submitting written comments to the DOJ and rewriting many of the regulations to make them more workable. NRA and CRPA agree with FFLGuard’s comments and the efforts of California firearm retailers to address the many problems with the proposed FSC regulations. Again, NRA and CRPA have submitted additional comments and we ask you to contact the DOJ and urge them to take all comments submitted to heart and to adopt the proposed revisions. You may do so by either submitting a public comment and/or attending the hearing.

The period for written comments by the public ends on November 24, 2015 at noon. It is vital that you let the DOJ know how you feel about the proposed permanent regulations prior to that deadline. You can address your comments to:   

Jeff Amador

Department of Justice

P.O. Box 160487

Sacramento, CA 95816-0487

Email: [email protected]

Should you wish to share your concerns at the public hearing, it will be held on November 24, 2015, between 10:00AM-12:00PM at the Resources Building Auditorium, 1416 9th Street, Sacramento, California 95814.

Be sure to let the DOJ know who you are, where you live, and your interest in these regulations (e.g. as a concerned firearm owner, firearm dealer/employee, or certified instructor). Feel free to use the format we have prepared, available here. 

Help Us Help You

Please help us fight for your right to choose to own a gun for sport, or to defend yourself and your family. The NRA and CRPA work together in California to fight for you, in cities and counties across the state, in regulatory agencies, and in the courts.  Even with the generous rates that our team of civil rights attorneys, legislative advocates, experts and consultants grant us, these ongoing efforts are still expensive. You can support our pro-Second Amendment efforts in California by donating to the NRA Legal Action Project.  All donations will be spent to specifically benefit California gun owners.

Second Amendment supporters should be careful about supporting litigation or other efforts promised by other individuals and groups that lack the experience, resources, skill, or legal talent to be successful. The NRA and CRPA national team of highly regarded civil rights attorneys, legislative advocates, and scholars has the experience, resources, skill and expertise needed to maximize the potential for victory in California’s often hostile political environments.

For a summary of some of the many actions the NRA and CRPA has taken on behalf of California gun owners, including the Peruta case, click here.