California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on Thursday that law enforcement had arrested a suspect in Contra Costa County who possessed a large stockpile of firearms. He was allegedly identified by the state’s Armed and Prohibited Persons System (APPS) as an individual who should not be allowed to have guns.

In a press release, Bonta touted the arrest, saying that it “demonstrates exactly why the Armed and Prohibited Persons System is vital for the safety of our communities.”

California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced the arrest of a suspect in Richmond with a large cache of illegal firearms, including assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and approximately one million rounds of ammunition. The suspect is alleged to be legally barred from owning weapons.

“This arrest demonstrates exactly why the Armed and Prohibited Persons System is vital for the safety of our communities,” said Attorney General Bonta. “In our efforts to retrieve guns from a prohibited individual, we found hundreds of allegedly illegal weapons and approximately one million rounds of ammunition. I am grateful for our Bureau of Firearms agents’ and local law enforcement partners' work in getting these illegal weapons out of the hands of this prohibited individual.”

On January 31, 2024, agents from the California Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Bureau of Firearms (BOF) Contra Costa Anti-Violence Support Effort (CASE) Task Force assisted by the BOF Dublin office and Contra Costa County Probation Officers served a search warrant at the suspect's residence in Richmond. During the search, several suspected grenades were discovered and the Walnut Creek Police Department Bomb Squad and Travis Air Force Base Bomb Squad were asked to respond, and the grenades were found to be inert. After a thorough search of the residence, DOJ agents seized approximately 11 military-style machine guns, 133 handguns, 37 rifles, 60 assault rifles, 7 shotguns, 20 silencers, 4 flare guns, 3,000 large capacity magazines, approximately one million rounds of miscellaneous caliber ammunition, and dozens of rifle receivers and pistol frames.

The APPS was established in 2006 and tracks gun owners who later become prohibited from owning firearms for various reasons. These include people with felony convictions, violent misdemeanors, domestic violence restraining orders, severe mental health issues, and other factors. It is intended to enhance California’s gun control efforts. Bonta’s statement did not indicate why the individual in Richmond found himself on the list.

However, there are some serious flaws with the program. For starters, the APPS could result in inaccuracies, possibly misidentifying people as those who are not allowed to possess firearms. This could lead to situations in which responsible gun owners are targeted.

There is also the privacy issue. The program’s extensive tracking and monitoring of people’s gun ownership is highly problematic because it empowers the state to keep gun owners on a database that can and will be abused. There is a disturbing potential for overreach and misuse of the collected data.

It is also worth noting that, as with any other gun control initiative, it is not effective against criminals who don’t bother to follow these laws. The vast majority of criminals who commit gun crimes obtain their firearms outside of the confines of the law, meaning that the APPS cannot track them when they illegally obtain guns. This program is only for those who purchase guns legally, which means they are the ones who will be affected.

Even if a person legally buys a gun, and then later finds themselves on the APPS list, if they want to commit a gun-related crime later, they can still obtain a firearm illegally. This program is yet another “feel good” measure that makes it appear as if California’s government is cracking down on violent crimes--when they are really not.