Second Amendment Foundation challenges California firearm barrel background check rules

The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) has submitted formal comments to the California Department of Justice regarding the implementation of Senate Bill 704. This legislation, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, establishes the nation’s first background check requirement for firearm barrel transfers.

While the SAF maintains that the law is unconstitutional, the organization is providing feedback to mitigate potential implementation issues. Specifically, the SAF warned that the proposed “Standard Firearm Barrel Eligibility Check” could mirror flaws in California’s existing ammunition check system, where name or address mismatches in the Automated Firearms System (AFS) lead to mass false rejections without notifying the buyer of the option to perform a “Basic Check.”

State Senator Jesse Arreguín, the bill’s author, described the measure as a “common sense” effort to prevent criminals from using separately purchased barrels to assemble untraceable weapons via 3D printing. Conversely, SAF Director of Legal Research and Education Kostas Moros argued that the law would effectively end direct-to-home shipping for barrels and noted that most criminals obtain completed illegal firearms rather than assembling them from parts.