FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Peter DeMarco
March 17, 2015 (916) 651-4029
Senate Republicans Seek Oversight Hearing to examine significant backlog in Attorney General Kamala Harris’ Program to Take Guns from Criminals and Mentally Ill
SACRAMENTO -Senate Republicans sent a letter today to Senate President pro Tem Kevin de León asking for an oversight hearing on why there remains a significant backlog in the seizure of firearms illegally in the possession of criminals and the mentally ill. According to Attorney General Kamala Harris’ office, the backlog in the number of prohibited persons who possess firearms has only been reduced by 3,770 thereby allowing 17,479 prohibited individuals to continue to illegally possess over 36,000 firearms despite having spent 40 percent of the funds appropriated in 2013 to eliminate the entire backlog.
In the immediate aftermath of the Sandy Hook tragedy in 2013, the Legislature authorized an audit of the California Attorney General’s Armed Prohibited Person System (APPS). APPS is a unique database that cross-references firearm owners in California against domestic violence restraining orders, and mental health and criminal history records to determine persons who have been, or will become, prohibited from possessing a firearm subsequent to a lawful purchase. The 2013 audit found that there was a backlog of 20,000 armed prohibited persons in California with more than 40,000 firearms. Continue reading