I sell guns in Texas, where the paperwork is a federal Form 4473 and a background check, so following California firearms law is a bit like watching weather on another planet. But the Franklin Armory case covered in the video above matters well beyond California, because it’s a clean example of how a state can regulate through paperwork rather than through law. I’m Lance Rankin, owner of Western Sport in Roanoke, Texas, and here’s the situation as I read it. Keep in mind this is dated commentary on active litigation; as of this writing the case was ongoing, and you should check its current status before drawing conclusions.
The background
Franklin Armory, a Nevada manufacturer, specializes in California-compliant firearms, including roster-listed pistols like the CA7, CA9, and CA11. Their Title 1 was clever: a firearm configured so that it legally qualified as an “other,” fitting neither California’s assault weapon definition nor the federal categories of rifle, pistol, or shotgun. Not prohibited, so Californians should have been able to buy one.
Except they couldn’t, for a purely clerical reason. Every dealer sale in California runs through the state’s DROS system, and the dealer must select a category: rifle, pistol, shotgun, receiver, and so on. There was no “other” box. The state was told to add one and didn’t. No box, no sale. Franklin Armory sued over exactly that, twice, arguing that the DOJ’s refusal to fix its own system, or offer any alternative transfer method, blocked lawful citizens from buying a lawful firearm, and that the delay was intentional.
The sudden fix
The lawsuit survived the state’s attempt to get it tossed, clearing the way toward trial. And then, shortly after, the Bureau of Firearms quietly added the “other” field to DROS. Problem solved? Franklin Armory says no. Their statement argues the option is so restricted in practice that its function is “illusory” for actually transferring a firearm like the Title 1, and that the timing strengthens their case rather than weakening it.
Meanwhile California passed SB 118, amending Penal Code 30515 to sweep “other” firearms like the Title 1 into the assault weapon category, with a registration window that opened October 1 and runs through the end of the year. So the state added the checkbox that would let you buy the gun while simultaneously reclassifying the gun so you can’t. That sequence tells you what the checkbox was for.
The mootness game
Here’s the tactic, and it’s one gun owners should learn to recognize. When a state is losing a case, it changes the challenged rule just enough to argue the lawsuit is moot, no live controversy, case dismissed, and the underlying question never gets answered. New York ran this exact play with its carry licensing case, and the Supreme Court let the dismissal stand. If the tactic works here, California escapes a ruling on whether blocking sales through a broken database violates anyone’s rights, and it keeps the tool available for next time.
From where I sit, that’s the real story. Not one company’s product, but whether an agency can accomplish a ban by simply declining to update a form, then erase the evidence when someone sues. As a dealer, the idea that a state’s data entry screen can override the legislature and the Constitution is the kind of precedent that should worry everybody, whatever state you live in.
If you’re a Californian affected by the registration window, get advice from a California firearms attorney; the deadlines in this mess are unforgiving. And if you ever want a reminder of what buying a firearm looks like without all this, my guide to how to buy a gun in Texas makes for cheerful reading.
Lance Rankin is the owner and Chief Gunsmith of Western Sport, a family-run Type 07 FFL and Class 3/SOT dealer in Roanoke, Texas, serving shooters since 2007. Born and raised in Texas with over 50 years of experience handling firearms, Lance purchased Western Sport in 2017 and turned his lifelong passion into his profession. He specializes in AR-15 and AR-10 platform rifles, manufactures Western Sport’s own AR-15 line under the Rankin Industries brand, and runs the shop’s in-house Cerakote coating operation. When he’s not behind the counter or the workbench, you’ll find him on his ranch deep into the night, hunting coyotes with an AR-15 and thermal optics. Lance holds an MBA and personally shoots and tests the products Western Sport sells.
