It was supposed to be an era of states’ rights. When George W. Bush took office, he stated firmly that it is not the role of the federal government to impose its will on states and local communities, but rather, to empower them.
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, a Democrat, might argue that this promise of local autonomy has not been fulfilled. According to statements Lockyer has made to both the press and the United States Attorney General, the current level of federal interference in California’s affairs is unprecedented.
There are fights between Sacramento and Washington D.C. over environmental laws that prohibit the expansion of logging in the Sequoia Forest, as well as skirmishes over California restrictions on factory pollution levels that the the federal Environment Protection Agency tried to stop. There is also a dispute between our state and the Treasury Department over a law that requires interest rate disclosures on credit card bills.
Many of these federal complaints are backed up by lawsuits. Lockyer has fought back by filing dozens of counter-suits.
In the midst of these accusations and recriminations, a potentially landmark conflict over gun control has slowly simmered to a boil.
Last year, California launched the California Armed and Prohibited Program (CAPP). It is the nation’s first proactive law enforcement campaign designed to take weapons away from people who were once legal gun owners but who have since fallen into a “prohibited” category either through criminal activity or mental illness. This novel effort was developed after the passage of SB 950, a gun control bill authored by state Senate Republican Leader Jim Brulte’s and approved in October of 2001.
In order to investigate potential targets through the “Armed and Prohibited” program, California’s Attorney General has marshaled a series of law enforcement databases, including the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS.
It was California’s use of this federal database that triggered a warning delivered by a Federal Bureau of Investigations lawyer to the state Department of Justice Firearms Division Chief, Randy Rossi. The FBI litigator warned Rossi to stop using NICS immediately or face criminal prosecution. According to the U.S. Justice Department, NICS, created as a result of the federal Brady law, only allows for gun dealers—not law enforcement agencies—to conduct background checks on prospective buyers.
Lockyer and Rossi think differently and claim that the NICS database is both a necessary and legitimate tool for enforcing the CAPP program. California’s Attorney General expects the conflict over California’s use of NICS to add but another layer to the pile of state versus federal lawsuits.