Government Theft 201

From The Fleecing of California's Gun Purchasers

This week, the California State Assembly Appropriations Committee will be considering a measure that demonstrates the absolute worst in government incompetence and thievery. SB 140 (Leno) outright steals money from a fund entirely paid for (and supposedly dedicated to) law-abiding gun owners to fund the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) failed firearms enforcement program.

When originally imposed on California citizens, the DROS fee was mandated to "...be no more than is necessary..." for the California DOJ to perform the specific duties of background checks and registration. However,

For years, the Department has unlawfully over-collected DROS fees from law-abiding gun owners -- gun owners who spent money and time to comply with the law and submit to the background check process. Where the DROS fees should have been lowered years ago to account for the massive surplus (basically, unconstitutionally assessed taxed), the DOJ has stubbornly refused to lower the fees in spite of substantial evidence of their bad faith accounting.

The man who steal with a gun risks being injured by his victim and is usually branded a criminal and outlaw. The man who steals with a pen risks little: He has the power of the state on his side and is often rewarded with public office. The latter is clearly the case here. When the government starts raiding funds it collected in contravention of the law, it becomes an example of exactly why we Americans have guns in the first place.