Moving From California to the United States: A Gun Owner's Journey

I knew that California was eroding my 2^nd amendment rights. When I became an adult in 1987, I bought a Ruger Mini 14 right after my 18^th birthday. I had to sit through the waiting period so I could get my “newfound freedom” out of gun jail. Since that day, I’ve watched California enact every anti 2^nd amendment legislation they could think of.

A Long History in California

My family has been in California since the 1850s. My Great Great Grandfather, Will S. Green, founded the County of Colusa. Now, no one in my family is left in California. Every one of us is gone. I was the first to leave when I retired from the police department I had worked for in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 29 years. How bad was it working there? My jury pool was Oakland and Berkeley just to put it in perspective.

The author participating in Urban Shield, a 48 hour SWAT Exercise held in Northern California. The exercise has been shut down due to political pressure.

As I write this, California is facing Gunmageddon Part II. You cannot get certain gun parts without going to “state sanctioned” sellers first and getting a background check. You want that new charging handle for an AR15? You'll have to buy it through one of those sellers first after you pass a background check.

Buying Guns that Make You a Felon in California

So, what is it like when a 2^nd amendment loving Californian flees the state and moves back to the United States? My first day in the state I went out and bought two new handguns. In California, you can only buy handguns that the State deems “safe.” No, seriously, that’s a thing there. Do you want to buy a new Glock 19 Gen 5? Not in California since the State doesn’t have it on the safe handgun roster. The state also prohibits you from buying more than one gun every month (again, I’m not kidding). Buying two guns on the same day that I couldn’t buy in California was my initial protest against California.

• A relative shoots the author's newly purchased AK47 at an indoor range/ Possession of this gun in CA, if it is unregistered, is punishible by imprisonment. However, in free America, it is totally legal.

Back to the gun counter. I’m sitting at Hawktech Arms in Meridian, ID and I bought two brand new handguns that I couldn’t buy back in my home state. I filled out two form 4473’s and walked out 15 minutes later. I could have been out earlier, but I was having a great time talking to the guys running the store. When I walked out, I felt like I had done something wrong. I didn’t wait my requisite 10 day waiting period like I had to do in California. I was waiting for California DOJ Firearms Bureau Agents to jump out of the bushes and arrest me!

Waiting for the Boogeyman

It was at that moment that I realized just how much the State of California had been suppressing my constitutional rights. Don’t get me wrong, I knew that the State had been suppressing my rights my whole life. I was angry about it too and was active in trying to overturn their wrong decisions. But until you exercise those Constitutional freedoms in a free state, it all comes to light.

I remember going to a gun store in the city where I worked. I was in uniform, carrying a Glock 35 on my hip, a Glock 43 in my pocket, an HK416 was in my trunk along with an Accuracy International .308. I still had to wait a 10 day “cooling-off period.” Rest assured, the cooling-off period did nothing to protect the good citizens of California. I was talking to a man next to me and we talked about what guns we owned. Suffice it to say, the man next to me didn’t need a cooling-off period either. He had ready access to all sorts of firearms, including his legally carried concealed weapon. Again, California was safer with these great men and women possessing their firearms. Suppressing their rights and making them wait 10 days did nothing to protect the public.

Waiting Periods Don't Make You Safe

In fact, I worked a case once where a young lady was suicidal. She went to a local gun shop, bought a .357 revolver and some ammunition and then left. Ten days later, she returned to the shop, picked up her handgun and then went home and killed herself. The 10 day waiting period did not help protect her. She had a plan and carried it out.

Felon in California: Free Man Everywhere Else

Here’s a quick overview of my 2A activities since moving back to the United States from California:

• I have been buying ammunition online and having it sent to my house (in California, residents must buy ammo from an approved vendor and have a background check, delaying your purchase)

• I bought a couple of silencers (it’s a felony in California with a prison term of 16 months to 3 years in prison)

• I bought a handgun for my 19-year-old daughter, took her to the range and taught her how to move and shoot. She now carries that gun concealed since my new state allows constitutional carry for anyone over 18

• In California, I never sold guns because the State makes it difficult and they keep outlawing guns (don’t get rid of it, you may not be able to get another one down the road when they make it illegal). Now, I’ve been selling that dead weight. The first time I sold a gun it was in the parking lot of a grocery store. The guy was the nicest guy ever. We talked for 30 minutes before splitting ways. Again, I felt like I had done something wrong, until I realized it is completely normal in the rest of the US.

• I’ve bought a couple of AR15’s, which are illegal in California and imprisonable for up to one year in the county jail or state prison

• I took off all of my bullet buttons and replaced them with real magazine releases. Don’t know what a bullet button is? You must live in America. Go here to see what a bullet button is

Don't Vote Like You Are in California!

What else is it like moving out of California? I have cheaper DMV fees, lower taxes, lower crime, fewer people, more clean air, and more freedom-loving people. As a career cop, these new gun laws made me angry. It was only affecting hard working, law-abiding people. When I took a gun off of a drug dealer or gang member, it was often stolen. It was rarely purchased legally. Good, hardworking Californians abide by these laws because they don’t want to run afoul of the government. Criminals, though, didn’t care.

Meanwhile, I spend a couple of times a week enjoying my newfound freedoms. Just don’t vote like you’re in California when you move!