Ravenwood - 06/15/05 06:15 AM
The California Department of Justice is forcing the recall of .22 rimfire handguns because they have been re-classified as "assault weapons" under California law.
In late April, the California Department of Justice Firearms Division (DOJ) sent out 4320 disturbing letters demanding that buyers of the Smith & Wesson/Walther P-22 handgun, a .22 caliber target pistol, send the guns back to Smith & Wesson within 45 days for a retrofit or face criminal prosecution.Despite the fact that the California DOJ "tested and certified the P-22 handguns as 'safe' for sale, and approved them to be sold for two years before acting", customers and the manufacturer will bear the cost of modifying the firearm. If the firearms are not retrofitted, consumers face criminal prosecution.A DOJ Firearms Division agent contends these target handguns are "assault weapons" because they have a threaded barrel part used to assemble the firearm that could also potentially be used to accommodate a silencer or flash suppressor. . .
Despite the DOJ's allowing the firearms to be sold in California for nearly two years after discovering the threaded barrel, the DOJ has forced the manufacturer and purchasers to bear of the burden of modifying the firearm. DOJ did not seek immunity legislation for buyers (as has been done in previous similar situations), and it precluded the purchasers from registering the firearms as an "assault weapon," as DOJ had originally planned. (Since the P-22 is a handgun, it was registered with the state when purchased anyway, as all handguns purchased in California are.) Instead, DOJ threatened Smith & Wesson with an $11 million dollar Unfair Business Practice Act lawsuit if the company did not initiate this recall.
Category: Cold Dead Hands
Comments (4) top link me
Isn't that "ex post facto", and therefore illegal?
No. Because the law was in place before the purchases. I just wasn't properly enforced.
Posted by: Ravenwood at June 15, 2005 11:01 AMWhen did they change the law? It used to specify that a weapon had to be centerfire in order to be an assault weapon. In fact, I suggested to some eeevil black gun manufacturers that they make them with a 22LR upper factory installed so that they could be sold in California. They would sell zillions of them. Not that I'm suggesting it, but all you'd have to do is swap uppers and you'd have one of those banned guns, but the one you bought would be legal.
Posted by: GunGeek at June 16, 2005 12:06 PMI don't know the specifics of the law. But the article noted that the law banning them was in place prior to it's being enforced, which would lead me to believe ex post facto isn't a problem.
Posted by: Ravenwood at June 16, 2005 12:08 PM(c) Ravenwood and Associates, 1990 - 2014
