AB 1140

firearm transfers and possession

Background checks before firearms transfers

Current law provides that a federally licensed firearms dealer may not transfer

a handgun after a sale until the dealer has performed a background check on the

prospective transferee to determine if he or she is prohibited from possessing a

firearm under state or federal law. This bill generally prohibits any person from

transferring any firearm, including the frame or receiver of a firearm, unless the

transfer occurs through a federally licensed firearms dealer and involves a

background check of the prospective transferee. Under the bill, the following are

excepted from that prohibition: a transfer to a firearms dealer or to a law

enforcement or armed services agency; a transfer of a firearm classified as antique;

a transfer for no more than 14 days for the purpose of hunting or target shooting that

involves no more than nominal consideration; or a transfer that is by gift, bequest,

or inheritance to a family member. A person who is convicted of violating the

prohibition is guilty of a misdemeanor and must be fined not less than $500 nor more

than $10,000, may be imprisoned for not more than nine months, and may not

possess a firearm for a period of two years.

Law enforcement access to handgun background checks

Current law provides that a federally licensed firearms dealer may not transfer

a handgun after a sale until the dealer has requested the Department of Justice to

perform a background check on the prospective transferee to determine if he or she

is prohibited from possessing a firearm. Current law prohibits the following persons

from possessing a firearm: persons who have been convicted of a felony; persons

found not guilty of a felony by reason of mental disease or defect; persons who are

subject to certain injunctions such as a domestic abuse or child abuse injunction or,

in certain cases, a harassment or an individuals-at-risk injunction; and persons who

have been involuntarily committed for mental health treatment and ordered not to

possess a firearm. Current law also prohibits a person from intentionally furnishing,

purchasing, or possessing a firearm for a person who is prohibited from possessing

a firearm. This practice is commonly called straw purchasing.

Under current law, DOJ must deny access to records regarding background

checks; however there are exceptions. The bill creates three new exceptions. First,

under current law, if the background check reveals that a prospective transferee is

prohibited from possessing a firearm under state law, the attorney general may

disclose to a law enforcement agency that the person attempted to purchase a

handgun. The bill adds that the attorney general may make such a disclosure to law

enforcement if a prospective transferee is prohibited from possessing a firearm under

federal law as well as state law. Second, the bill adds that the attorney general may

disclose an attempted transfer to a law enforcement agency if the circumstances

surrounding the request for a background check indicate that the prospective