2A Newsletter: July 1

CA State AG and DOJ Dox all CCW Holders and Gun Owners Violating Privacy Act

The mainstream media is calling it a massive data breach but if you wipe off the sugar coated headline, we all know what just happened — California gun owners were doxxed by their own state’s Department of Justice this week in an extensive breach of privacy, violating the Privacy Act of 1974. Any Californian who has purchased a gun or applied for a CCW in the past decade can expect their personal data to have been leaked to the public. The leak included full names, home addresses and driver license numbers for all the law abiding citizens who went through the legal hoops to own their firearms and CCW permits.

Specifically, the exposure included:

• Assault Weapon Registry
• Handguns Certified for Sale
• Dealer Record of Sale
• Firearm Certificate Safety
• Gun Violence Restraining Order Dashboard

How did this happen? In April this year, CA Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that the CAL DOJ would be working to expand gun violence related data by releasing some information to researchers at the University of California Firearm Violence Research Center. Additionally, Bonta stated that he wanted this information to be more accessible to the public in an attempt for “more transparency.”

Well, he got what he wanted. Less than three months later, we find ourselves in our current situation. The leak at the top of many headlines this week came from OpenJustice, a public website maintained by the DOJ which includes dashboards with substantial information regarding firearms transactions and crime statistics within the state.

Initially, the DOJ removed the site’s functions where you could access gun owners’ most sensitive information. But the overall leak lasted anywhere from 24 to 48 hours before the site was completely taken down. On the other hand, it’s possible that this has been going on for much longer and that the gun community simply found out this week. Even if it had only been live for a few days following this CA AG office’s press release on June 27th… the information is already out there.

People still wonder why some are uncomfortable with gun registrations — we’ve got a prime example here of why people don’t trust the government. What do you think criminals will do with this information? It would not be a stretch to think that many Californians may soon be targeted by bad actors at home for the firearms they own.

So what recourse is being offered for the hundreds of thousands of Californians that have had anything to do with a gun in the past 11 years? The CA AG’s office is only offering credit monitoring to protect against identity thieves. By all means, hop onto a class action lawsuit when the opportunity presents itself for principle’s sake - just don’t expect much to come from it.

SCOTUS Goes Into Overdrive

Now that we’re living in a post Bruen world, four Second Amendment cases that the Supreme Court held pending have been distributed for conference and moved to review:

• Duncan v. Bonta- Case from California where the court questions whether or not “high capacity” magazine restrictions violate the Second Amendment for law abiding citizens.
• Bianchi v. Frosh - Case from Maryland which challenges the state’s ban on typical semi automatic rifles that are commonly owned by millions of Americans.
• Young v. Hawaii - Case from Hawaii regarding a law abiding citizen who applied twice to his local police department for a CCW permit but was denied even after meeting their requirements.
• ANJRPC v. Platkin- Case from New Jersey where their ban on magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds is being challenged.

This is incredibly exciting because traditionally, SCOTUS does not move this quickly. It’s possible that they decided to go into overdrive because June 30th was technically the last day that they would be in session for the season. What we’re hoping for is a complete reverse and remand (which has already happened). So once the case goes back to Judge Benitez and he revisits the Duncan v. Bonta case we hope that he'd immediately give Californians Freedom Week 2.0. Hopefully the other 2A cases go that well in Hawaii, Maryland and New Jersey as well.

Also, remember that the upcoming Midterm Elections are in November 2022 so be sure to do your research and vote wisely.

80 Percent Arms is Moving To Texas

Yep, you read that correctly. We’re moving to Fort Worth, Texas this summer.

Over the past decade we’ve seen several tragic incidents where guns were wrongfully used to harm other people and the anti-gunners have weaponized the news in a culture war that is attacking our industry and Second Amendment rights like never before. It seems like all things are coming to a head especially given the most recent anti-gun laws passed in California by Governor Newsom’s regime.

With the passing of California Assembly Bill 1621, which becomes effective today July 1, 2022, unserialized firearm precursor parts, AKA 80% lowers and pistol frames, will only be able to be legally purchased through FFL’s, such as gun stores, due to the change in legal definition of what a ‘firearm’ is in California. The bill would extend that definition to 80 percents, unfinished lower receiver and frames in general - meaning that making a “79%” would not curtail this law as they’d all be considered 100% firearms.

Not to mention, California also passed AB 1594 which allows for frivolous lawsuits against companies in the gun industry. For these reasons and more we’ve made the decision to move to a new, improved and much larger facility in Fort Worth, Texas where we are very excited to continue our work in arming as many Americans as possible with the tools, knowledge and new products to make your own firearms from the comfort and privacy of your own home. Please see our company statement blog about that for more information.

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