Is Your Gun Purchasing and Possession Data Private? The DOJ Shares it with Violence Researchers

From the DA’s Desk  
By Robert Phillips  
Deputy District Attorney (ret.) 

Second Amendment Update
Your Personal Information as a Firearms or Ammunition Purchaser, or CCW Applicant  

Are you aware that every time you purchase a new firearm or ammunition or if you apply for a concealed weapons permit that data and some of your personal identification information, is given to the state’s Department of Justice for use at the California Firearm Violence Research Center at the University of California-Davis? [See P.C. §§ 11106(d) & 30352(b)(2]].  

The center is a state institution the legislature created to conduct research and provide information on firearm violence to help the legislature create an informed statewide policy to enact appropriate legislation with the goal of curbing gun violence. (P.C. § 14231.)  

The personal information turned over to the center includes your name, address, identification, place of birth, telephone number, occupation, sex, physical description and legal aliases. [P.C. §§ 11106(b)(2)(A) & 30352(a)(b)(1)]. The statutes also permit the DOJ to share the information with other accredited, non-profit research institutions studying firearm violence. (P.C. §§ 11106(d), 30352(b)(2)). Currently, Stanford University houses the only other institution so authorized.  

California’s DOJ maintains two databases relevant to this issue. The first relates to purchasers of firearms and applicants for concealed weapons permits and is referred to as Automated Firearm System (AFS) [P.C. § 11106(b)]. The second relates to purchasers of ammunition and is known as the Ammunition Purchase Records File. (APRF) [P.C. § 30352(b)(1)].  

The disclosure of this information is nothing new. California has long permitted disclosure of information from these databases to a wide range of public officials, primarily for law enforcement purposes. [See P.C. §§ 11105(b) (c), 11106(c)(1), & 30352(b)(1)]. 

Five plaintiffs – Jane Doe and four John Does, all registered California gun owners – objected to this release of their personal information, filing a federal lawsuit against the state pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, challenging the constitutionality of the release of ....

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