SACRAMENTO, Calif. -(Ammoland.com)- Sacramento resident Craig DeLuz, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), and The Calguns Foundation (CGF) have announced a new legal action intended to ensure that the California Department of Justice (DOJ) cannot hide its proposed regulations from the public.
The action was filed after DeLuz and two civil rights advocacy organizations sought access to DOJ regulations on so-called “assault weapon” firearms so that they could review them and inform the public, but were denied.
The petitioners are represented by Paul Nicholas Boylan, an attorney based in Davis specializing in records access and government transparency issues.
In May, the Department of Justice submitted to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) a set of regulations relating to the “Bullet Button Assault Weapons” laws that were passed and signed into law in 2016.
Notably, the DOJ had submitted the regulations under the OAL’s “file & print” process, which means that the DOJ wanted the regulations to be put into law without any public notice or comment as would usually be required under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
When that action was discovered, DeLuz went to the DOJ’s office and asked to inspect them so that he could let California gun owners know what they contained and pass information back to the groups’ legal counsel for review.
But the Department turned him away at the door, claiming that the documents were “draft regulations” and “not available for public inspection” — effectively, keeping the regulations secret from 39 million Californians even though they could have become law.
“My clients recognize that the work the Department of Justice performs directly affects the rights of millions of people,” Boylan said. “The people of California have a constitutional right to examine how and why public agencies make decisions that impact other fundamental rights, and the DOJ is no exception.”
“If a record relates to the public’s business, then the public agency that holds the record must be provided to anyone who wants to see it. That’s the law, and the DOJ must follow it,” Boylan concluded.
“When the Department of Justice denied us access to their submitted regulations and told me that they were not available for public inspection, I was outraged and insulted,” said Craig DeLuz, FPC’s California lobbyist and a spokesperson for the organizations. “Those who claim to enforce the law should be expected to follow it.”
“The California Constitution and Public Records Act make it clear that people have a right to access and inspect information concerning the conduct of the people’s business,” said Brandon Combs, the president of FPC and executive director of CGF. “We know that the Department will have more firearm and ammunition regulations coming out over the coming months, and we will not allow them to use bad faith tactics to deny the people information about these important issues.”
To help inform law-abiding gun owners about the status of the “assault weapons” laws and regulations, Firearms Policy Coalition has established a website where it posts news and information about the issue.
About Firearms Policy Coalition:
Firearms Policy Coalition is a 501(c)4 grassroots nonprofit organization. FPC’s mission is to defend the Constitution of the United States, especially the fundamental, individual Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, through advocacy, legal action, education, and outreach.
About The Calguns Foundation:
The Calguns Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that serves its members, supporters, and the public through educational, cultural, and judicial efforts to defend and advance Second Amendment and related civil rights.
Supporters may visit their website to join or donate to CGF.
Todd Haines, exactly. Chairman Coumo and and NYC Mayor De Blasio, liberal police officials and prosecutors as well as the 68 NYS Assembly from NYC that go to Albany to vote as a block to take our money from the rest of the New York State Citizens for their liberal failing policies in New York City are already meeting in numbers to formulate a plan of using our tax dollars to sue if HR38 Reciprocity passes. Continued police corruption in New York City in the pistol licensing section. A few years back the Metropolitan Transportation Authority thru corruption was going… Read more »
NY State is right up there with California. I lived in California for 28 years growing up, now I’ve been here in NY for 22 years and ready to leave. Tired of my tax dollars being used against me by politicians
Fruits, nuts and flakes run Khalifornia. There is more voter fraud in that state than in NY, NJ and OH combined.
There are two California’s. The left coast lead by San Francisco, then there’s inland California. Inland is 75% of the land mass and conservative, but lacking in votes by a long shot to overcome the liberal leftist agenda of San Francisco politics. California will eventually suffer a social and economic collapse as all the conservatives are moving out taking their business and money with them. Eventually the liberals will run out of other peoples money, by the way California is broke now looking for new ways to tax who’s left with a paycheck. The moral to the story, any liberals… Read more »
What else is new? The liberal left liar hypocrites continue to break the laws again and again to oppress the law-abiding people.
More proof of the totalitarian Fascist dictates from fellow traveler Sacramento Socialist Syncopates and bureaucrats? Nothing new here!
Another example that the biggest fear of governments is sunshine.
How about all the pro-gun people move out of California and all the pro-gun control people move into California (along with gun wielding criminals)? And if the people that are left buy a gun, then they have to leave. Eventually, the only ones left are criminals and maybe some brain dead liberals that still think they can change the world. Australia 1788? Any problems, call Snake Pliskin.
The question mark goes inside the parenthesis and then a period follows it outside the parenthesis to conclude the sentence. You may not like Californians (and I don’t blame you) but at least we have a basic understanding of the English language
Dan Gentle, While I am sympathetic to your feelings about the state of government in CA I do hope that more citizens that share your views don’t do as you have in fleeing the oppression of your constitutional rights. If our founding fathers had fled the colonies instead of fighting for what they felt were their God given rights we would never have had the very rights you seek to exercise freely. We all must persevere in the constant battle with those who would deprive us of our constitutionally enumerated freedoms. It is our responsibility to preserve these rights to… Read more »
Perfect example of why California is no longer considered my “home state”. I’m so glad I had the gut sense to remove these crooked, weaseling liberals out of my life forever. They are the exact reason the 2nd amendment was written. To defend ourselves against a tierinous crooked government such as California’s. Wake up people.
The state of California is lead by morons, who are voted into office by morons, and then all those morons try to make the world believe that EVERYONE in that sad state are morons like them. The people with any sense are either moving out or wish they could move out.
The state is fubar.
You have to prevent the illegal aliens from voting in Ca. elections before you will make any progress back to freedom.
And get rid of voter fraud. It’s been going on even before the illegals numbers were so high. I volunteered to work at my local election & was given false information regarding where & when the first meeting was that volunteers were required to attend. I am a registered Republican who has never been arrested, convicted nor even charged with any crime ever. I volunteered in the public schools for decades, including being on the board of the PTA.