California law enforcement agents seized 1,200 guns from the mentally ill and others banned from keeping firearms, but thousands more remain with people who shouldn’t have them.
A third of the seizures came from the mentally ill. The rest of the weapons were seized from people with criminal records or those who have temporary restraining orders against them. Steve Linley, of the bureau of firearms in the state attorney general’s office, says the seizures have saved lives including those of the people who had the weapons illegally.
“Because we just don’t know what they’re going to do," Linley said. "They are armed with firearms and assault weapons. If we can take a firearm from an individual who is mentally ill, eventually we are preventing somebody from getting hurt.”
Linley says 34,000 more guns remain statewide with people who shouldn’t have them. Of that figure, 1,859 are believed to be in San Diego County.
