Ghost Guns in the Golden State: How Much Time Could You Spend Haunting County Jail?
Ah, California, the land of sunshine, surf, and...strict gun laws. Now, if you're the tinkering type, you might be wondering about building your own firearm, a so-called "ghost gun" with no pesky serial number. But before you unleash your inner Walter White, let's talk about the potential not-so-golden afterlife you might face if you get caught spooking around with an unregistered ghost gun in the land of avocados.
The Spectral Sentence: Misdemeanor or Felony Follies?
California, unlike some other states, doesn't necessarily throw the whole book at you for simply owning a ghost gun. But there's a catch, folks, and it's a big one: knowingly possessing an unregistered ghost gun is a crime. We're talking misdemeanor charges, which could land you in county jail for up to a year with a not-so-fun side of lukewarm cafeteria food and questionable cellmate conversations.
That doesn't sound too scary, right? Well, hold your horses (or should we say, spook your stallions?). If you've got a rap sheet longer than a grocery list, or if you're caught packing heat (that's ghost gun slang, folks) with your unregistered ghost gun, things can get creepy crawly real fast. This little transgression could be classified as a "wobbler" offense.
Wobbler? What in the possessed pistolas is that?
A "wobbler" is basically the legal system's way of saying, "Hey, judge, this one's up to you!" Depending on the mood of the judge (hopefully they're a cat person!), your ghost gun shenanigans could be bumped up to a felony. That translates to potentially saying "hasta la vista" to freedom for a much longer stretch, we're talking 16 months to 3 years in the clink.
So, what's the moral of the story?
If you're looking to channel your inner Tony Stark and build your own Iron Man suit (minus the repulsor rays, because that would be a whole other legal nightmare), make sure you register that ghost gun with the California Department of Justice. It's a simple process, supposedly less painful than a root canal, and it saves you the heartache (and potential jail time) of accidentally becoming a resident of the not-so-haunted halls of county jail.
But hey, if you're still feeling like a spooky outlaw, there's always the option of taking up knitting. You might not be able to defend yourself from rogue squirrels, but at least you'll have a cozy scarf for your prison sentence...or should we say, your not-so-spooky afterlife?
