In a six-week crackdown, California state and local law enforcement officials seized 541 guns from Californians who should have relinquished their weapons because of court orders, authorities said on Monday.
In the crackdown, authorities used a new database that matches criminal histories with gun owners, state Attorney General Jerry Brown said in Los Angeles.
The state Department of Justice identified the 1,000 most dangerous ex-convicts and other offenders who legally purchased guns before they were convicted of felonies, domestic violence, violent or firearms-related misdemeanors or were found to be mentally unfit, said Brown.
The Los Angeles Police Department identified 110 such felons in the city and confiscated 130 weapons using the Armed and Prohibited Persons System, said police, adding that one man who barricaded himself in his home when police arrived was in possession of 11 guns.
"We knock on the door, find out if they have (their guns). Most of them don't have them any more for various reasons. Some of the mare already in police custody, some of them were sold, lawfully or unlawfully,'' said Lt. Steve Neilsen with the Los Angeles Police Department's Fugitive Warrant Section.
The database was made available to local police departments this year and contains 9,000 names, according to Brown's office.
"There are thousands of people in California who acquired guns lawfully in the past, committed a crime, and should no longer have weapons," Brown said. "The Department of Justice is committed to working with local law enforcement to confiscate these weapons and make the streets safer."
The executive director of Gun Owners of California said most people are not aware of the limitations on gun ownership.
"There isn't a whole lot of information out there about people who have lost their rights because of a prior misdemeanor conviction. If that information is made more available, you will find more people obeying the law," said Sam Parades.
In the city of Los Angeles, gun owners are required to report lost or stolen guns within 48 hours.
There are two ways to properly dispose of a gun in Los Angeles. Owners can sell, give away or legally transfer ownership of the firearm through the Department of Justice, or surrender the gun to a California law enforcement agency for the purpose of destruction.
Source: Xinhua
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