The upcoming 2022 midterm elections in November will be contentious. The divisions within each party are almost as profound as those between the two parties.

Blue on Blue in California

San Francisco is one of the most liberal cities in the country (63% Democrat, 7% Republican). Voters elected a “progressive” Democrat, Chesa Boudin, to the DA's office in 2019. Although pandemic-related crime and gun violence increased all over the country, SF voters blamed Boudin's policies. They recalled him on June 7.

Democrat Mayor London Breed appointed Democrat Brooke Jenkins as District Attorney on July 8. A former, tough-on-crime SF assistant D.A., Jenkins resigned last year after disagreeing with Boudin's policies. She led the recall effort against her fellow party member. July 15, she fired more than a dozen of her former colleagues and hired new ADAs with “prosecutorial experience” to “restore law and order” to San Francisco.

Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

Although most Democrats expressed disappointment in the bipartisan bill passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden on June 25, they took what they could get.

According to CNN, the bill “fails to ban any weapons and falls far short of what Biden and his party had advocated for, and polls show most Americans want to see.”

Among other things, the act offers states $750 million to:

• Implement and expand red flag laws to confiscate the guns of anyone who poses a danger to themselves or others,
• Confiscate guns of anyone who has been convicted of intimate partner violence, and
• Prosecute “ghost gun” dealers who fail to register as federally licensed firearms dealers or sell do-it-yourself gun kits without serial numbers.

Penalties for Illegal Firearm Possession

Possession of a firearm by felons, people with restraining orders, dishonorably discharged veterans, drug users or dealers, people convicted of domestic violence, and fugitives is punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison.

Possession of a gun during the commission of a federal drug or violent crime is punishable by up to life imprisonment.

Because of the current epidemic of gun violence, anyone charged with a federal firearms violation can expect aggressive prosecution. More than ever, a defendant needs defense counsel experienced in federal law. In the greater Los Angeles area, call the Sigal Law Group at 818-325-0570 for a free consultation.