SACRAMENTO, CA (July 11, 2018) — The California Department of Justice has withdrawn its latest proposed “assault weapon” regulation after facing opposition and litigation from many gun rights groups, including Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), Firearms Policy Foundation (FPF), Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), The Calguns Foundation (CGF), and California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees (CAL-FFL). Their legal brief in opposition, written and filed with the DOJ on January 5 by former California deputy attorney general and prosecutor Raymond M. DiGuiseppe, can be found online at http://bit.ly/fpc-5460-opposition.

DOJ’s proposed regulation, first published last year, would have applied the “definitions of terms in section 5471 of this chapter . . . to the identification of assault weapons pursuant to Penal Code section 30515”—one of the key “assault weapon” statutes. But now that the proposed regulation has been withdrawn, it is unclear how law enforcement officers and prosecutors will respond.

“The DOJ’s proposed rulemaking in this case was a smoke-screen to cover their tracks and other prior unlawful regulatory actions,” said FPC President Brandon Combs. “While we are pleased that our opposition efforts were ultimately successful here, we know that Attorney General Becerra is relentless in his attacks on law-abiding gun owners and their Second Amendment rights. FPC will continue to defend the people of California and our Constitution from his DOJ’s abusive executive actions.”

Earlier today, FPC joined three other gun rights groups and individual gun owners in filing a new civil rights lawsuit challenging the DOJ’s failed “assault weapon” registration system, which prevented gun owners from complying with the laws before the July 1 deadline. Information about that case can be found at https://www.firearmspolicy.org/sharp. The groups have another active lawsuit over the “assault weapon” regulations, Holt v. Becerra, in Riverside County Superior Court.

DOJ’s withdrawal of the rulemaking action was documented by the State’s Office of Administrative Law. Updates regarding the latest California “assault weapon” statutes and regulations can be found at http://bulletbuttonban.com.

Firearms Policy Coalition (www.firearmspolicy.org) is a 501(c)4 grassroots nonprofit organization. FPC’s mission is to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, especially the fundamental, individual Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

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