Steven Greenhut on Mind-Reading, Gun-Grabbing California Law
Gun-control efforts often center on hardware, such as limiting or banning the ownership of particular firearms and ammunition. But in California this year, the most significant new gun-related law is less about the guns and more about identifying people who might be too dangerous to own them. A.B. 1014, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2016, creates a Gun Violence Restraining Order that allows people who suspect a family member is mentally unstable or dangerous to get a court order forbidding that person from owning weaponry and ammo. Steven Greenhut says the main problem critics have with the new law involves due process. A gun owner may be deprived of a constitutional right for a year based on the claims of even distant relatives and using a lower "reasonable" standard rather than the "clear and convincing" standard.