SB 15 (Blakespear) – Opposition Letter
March 17, 2025 –
Dear Senator Blakespear:
I am writing to respectfully express Gun Owners of California’s opposition to your SB 15, for several important reasons. This legislation makes a number of significant changes to inspections of firearm dealers in the state.
First and foremost, in our 50 years of advocating for the Second Amendment, Gun Owners of California has never heard of any licensed gun dealer in the state refusing to allow a CADOJ or BATFE inspection. Nor have we ever been apprised of a California licensed firearms dealer willfully failing to comply with all of the present laws; this would be the height of foolishness – from a professional and personal perspective.
The creation of a “top 10 list” of California firearms dealers who have the highest percentage of “crime guns” traced back to their FFL will not impact the devastation caused by the criminal misuse of firearms. Rather it will unnecessarily add a “scarlet letter” to firearm retailers who have been operating fully under the law in California. GOC believes that it is morally wrong to hold firearm dealers accountable for actions that occur after the legal transfer of a firearm, and therefore completely out of their control. Penalizing a business for someone else’s prospective crime is misdirected, especially given that safeguards currently exist to remove dealers from the approved list for instances of willful disregard of the law.
Finally, the provisions allowing the charging of “reasonable” annual fees to be charged is of great concern, given that the term “reasonable” is often highly subjective in nature. What’s more, since SB 15 also does not limit the fees to the costs of inspections and maintenance of the requirements imposed by this bill, it is no longer a fee, but falls under the legal definition of a “tax.”
GOC does not believe California gun dealers are intentionally providing guns for use by criminals, and thus does not agree that this bill provides “greater scrutiny for gun dealers providing high numbers of firearms for criminal activity.” For this reason, we are opposed to the bill and as always, I would be pleased to discuss this and other related matters with you at your convenience.
Respectfully,
Sam Paredes, Executive Director