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11/21/2024 11:29:04 am

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California Allows Gun Seizure From People Deemed Dangerous

Jerry Brown

(Photo : Reuters / Edgard Garrido) California Governor Jerry Brown gestures during a news conference at Memoria y Tolerancia museum in Mexico City July 28, 2014.

California Governor Jerry Brown on Tuesday said he signed a gun legislation that allows relatives to seek the seizure of guns from someone deemed dangerous, making California the first state to do so.

Democrats proposed the gun legislation in response to Elliot Rodger's deadly shooting spree in May in Santa Barbara. Supporters of the bill said it could have prevented such rampages from happening, USA Today reported.

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"California, today, is a safer state because of this legislation," Rodger's dad, Peter Rodger, stated Tuesday night. "Let's hope other states follow."

The new legislation gives family members the option to seek court authorization to remove guns owned by people who they think are dangerous - an option that was previously available only to law enforcement personnel in Connecticut, Texas and Indiana.

Rodger shot three people, stabbed another three and killed himself when the police went after him. His May 23 rampage, which left six people dead and 13 injured in the Isla Vista community, pushed lawmakers to approve the said measure.

The parents of the troubled Rodgers were unable to seek help before the bloody incident happened. Few weeks before, they asked his son's therapist to get in touch with mental health officials and deputies in Santa Barbara County, but they never searched inside his apartment to check for guns.

Rodger's family decided he did not pose a danger either to himself or to other people. However, he later on wrote that authorities would have found the gun if they searched his apartment.

The new California gun legislation states that a person seeking gun restriction has to sign an affidavit. Lying under oath could result in a misdemeanor charge.

To allow the owner to argue the allegations of being a danger to himself and others, the court would hold a hearing within 14 days after the restriction is granted.

The present California gun law allows authorities to confiscate legally purchased firearms only from those charged with a felony or violent misdemeanor, those deemed to be mentally unstable and those subjected to a domestic violence restriction.

Some Democrats and Republican lawmakers opposed the California gun restriction, which is called AB1014. The National Rifle Association and several gun-rights organizations also opposed the said bill.

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