Figures from the California Justice Department show that gun confiscations are surging under the state’s red flag law.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports there were 86 gun confiscation orders issued in California in 2016 and 104 in 2017. There were 424 orders issued in 2018.

The surge is largely due to approaches adopted by counties like San Diego, where the state-level adoption of a red flag law opened the door to county and municipal confiscatory plans.

San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott said, “There’s a great deal of relief that there’s this tool to prevent gun violence in our community.” Elliot indicated officers in San Diego County have made the pursuit of confiscation orders part of their “regular policing.” She said the strategy, once implemented, “took off like wildfire.”

San Diego County adopted their policy in December 2017 and witnessed the issuance of 185 confiscation orders in the county alone since then.

On September 29, 2018, Reuters reported that Gov. Brown signed changes to the state’s red flag law, making it easier for family members and police to secure confiscation orders against individuals. Breitbart News reported that California’s red flag law was expanded on January 1, 2019, to cover firearm accessories and ammunition.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.