The California Department of Justice has a police squad dedicated to confiscating firearms from prohibited persons through the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS). They work from a government database. See the problem? “[Michael] Merritt said that was the night of Nov. 5. Several agents arrived at his door and started asking questions about which guns he owned. ‘I thought, he’s here to get my guns for some reason,’ Merritt described. ‘He says, ‘You have a felony here from 1970.’ I said, ‘A felony? A pot possession charge from 1970.'” Let’s talk about “gun bullies” shall we? “‘We told them to leave the house and go get a warrant, and they said that’s fine,’ wife Karla Merritt said. ‘But, when we get the warrant and we come back, you’re going to jail,’ agents reportedly told the couple.” So Merritt handed over his guns. And then . . .

Merritt said several days after his guns were taken, an agent called back to say his guns would be returned. “I asked him, ‘Why did you do this? What’s going on?’ He said, ‘We made a big mistake,'” according to Merritt. [ED: His pot conviction was a misdemeanor.] On Nov. 21, Merritt said several officers came back and returned all the guns.

Props to bakersfieldnow.com for asking the obvious question: how often does this happen?

Eyewitness News asked how often guns get returned after an APPS seizure. The spokesman didn’t have hard numbers, but said sometimes guns are returned based on a court order, disposition of a case, or they can be transferred to another individual. As for how often there’s a situation like Merritt’s, the assistant chief said it’s rare.

No hard numbers eh?

“Over the last two years, DOJ agents have investigated nearly 4,000 people and seized nearly 4,000 weapons, including nearly 2,000 handguns and more than 300 assault weapons,” reads the AG [Attorney General’s] statement. The Bureau of Firearms assistant chief says in 2013, the unit did 3,885 investigations and seized 2,714 weapons.

No doubt fans of the police state will rejoice at the stats. Right until they get that knock on their door in the middle of the night.