Q: FOR CA FFL GUARD CONSIGNED HANDGUNS When the CA approved handgun list was implemented (SB15) SoCal dealers had a meet with then director Randy Rossi and Tim Rigor(?) then CA DOJ counsel concerning SB15. Tim R was very fond of answering dealer questions with a favorite question of his own; “How much excitement do you want in your life?”. He was also fond of characterizing requests from FFLs for clarification of CA DOJ policies as “attempts to get around the law.” Tim R. may be gone, but his attitude toward CA FFLs is alive and well. Recent queries to CA DOJ on this subject have gone unanswered. Accordingly, current practice is to not pay on a consigned firearm in advance. We FFLs were put on notice that consigned handguns that were not on the CA approved safe handgun list were SB15 exempt only so long as they were a) very specifically identified as consigned as opposed to a store owned handgun and b) they were processed as private party transfers, and c) the store had zero vested interest in the handgun; if we owned it or owned even a part of it – as in paying the customer up front, all or part of the expected proceeds – then the handgun became store owned and was no longer exempt. I understand from my fellow CA dealers that many of them are paying the customer the expected proceeds for a non-roster handgun up front and then processing it as a private party transfer/consigned handgun at a later date. Question, is this a legal practice under current CA law? Thank you, Ron Godwin Cell (619) 806-3006
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