The controversial registration of so-called “bullet button rifles” in California didn’t exactly go off without a hitch, but a new report from the NRA-ILA suggests that the entire process could reasonably be classified as an unmitigated disaster thanks to a data breach.

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Data Breach

“Possibly even more concerning with DOJ’s online registration system were the reports of the system’s improper disclosure of personal information to other users,” the NRA-ILA reported. “There have been confirmed reports of individuals attempting to register their firearms who were improperly given access to the account information associated with another individual, due to a complete breakdown of CA DOJ’s registration application system. In some cases, the system allowed users to see all the personal information (including home address, telephone number, email, and Driver’s License number) for another user and all the information that user had submitted for registering their firearms as ‘assault weapons’—including the firearms make/model/serial number and all of the photos and attachments to the user’s registration application.

The NRA-ILA goes on to note that this isn’t the first time the California DOJ has improperly shared gun owners’ data. Back in 2016, the DOJ gave the personal information of nearly 4,000 firearm instructors to a reporter with Southern California Public Radio.

Deployed Military Members

Even more alarming, the NRA-ILA points out that the online bullet button registration method—which requires applications to be submitted online and stipulates that photographs of the “assault rifles” be included—prohibited many deployed military members from lawfully registering.

“Because many members of the military were required to leave their personally owned firearms at home while on deployment, they were unable to obtain the required photographs for registration,” the NRA-ILA says. “And for those who somehow managed to obtain the required photographs, they were still faced with CA DOJ’s online registration system consistently crashing.”

As a result, these brave men and women could face a felony conviction for owning a bullet button AR, which California now classifies as an “assault rifle.”

Help Is On The Way

The NRA has put together a paper for those who failed to register their bullet button rifles. It lays out the legal options available, as well as what to do when contacted by the DOJ or local LEOs. Attorneys for the NRA and CRPA said they’re “reviewing” the situation and will be contacting the DOJ for more information.

Bullet Button Rifles

As we told you last week, a bullet button is a recessed button that can only be pressed using a bullet, or anything pointy, which then releases the magazine. Designed as a workaround for California’s detachable magazine ban, the state passed a law banning ownership of rifles equipped with said device, but rifles owned prior to the law getting passed were grandfathered in, provided they were registered with the state before midnight on Saturday, June 30. When Saturday came and went, it was revealed that the DOJ’s website experienced outages due to the traffic.