WEST SACRAMENTO — New Year, new guns laws in California. And from the perspective of some local gun sellers, only one thing is certain.
“That everybody has a question,” said Brent Dawson, who owns Kilroys in West Sacramento.
Dawson says he’s been getting questions from all over the region from customers wanting to know what they need to know about California`s changing gun regulations.
“I don’t want to register my weapon how do I modify it?”
That type of question is coming from people who own assault rifles but don’t want to register them as the law now requires. So they are modifying them so they don’t technically qualify as assault weapons anymore.
Another major change is the in the ammunition arena.
“Now everything has to be behind the counter,” Dawson said.
For starters, shoppers will no longer be able to walk into a gun store and help themselves to bullets on showroom floors.
“People are calling saying ‘Hey, how do we get ammunition shipped to us,” he said.
Also, like with gun sales, people will not be able to buy ammo directly from online retailers. Any internet or catalog shipments will have to be sent to an authorized dealer, like Kilroys, before customers can pick it up.
Dawson acknowledges that as a consumer he sees that as an inconvenience, but as a retailer, acting as a middle man for online ammo sales distribution could be good for business.
“We may get new customers, and maybe we can move them to our selection to make their purchases,” he said.
And then there is the background check law. Starting in 2019, anyone buying ammunition must pass a background check. But there are competing laws governing how that would work and how much it’s going to cost customers.
“The only things that’s clear is that they’re going to want your identification … how much you’re buying, and it has to go through a licensed dealer,” he said.
