SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE

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1 0 0 George M. Lee (SBN ) Douglas A. Applegate (SBN 000) SEILER EPSTEIN ZIEGLER & APPLEGATE LLP 0 Montgomery Street, Suite 000 San Francisco, CA Phone: () -000 Fax: () -0 Raymond M. DiGuiseppe (SBN ) LAW OFFICES OF RAYMOND MARK DIGUISEPPE, PLLC North Front Street, Fifth Floor Wilmington, NC 0 Phone: (0) -0 Fax: (0) -0 GEORGE HOLT, et al., SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA Plaintiffs and Petitioners, vs. XAVIER BECERRA, in his official capacity as Attorney General of California, et al., Defendants and Respondents. FOR THE COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE I, GEORGE HOLT, declare as follows: Case No. RIC DECLARATION OF PLAINTIFF GEORGE HOLT IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION AND/OR ALTERNATIVE MOTION TO EXPEDITE HEARING Date: March, 0 Time: :0 a.m. Dept. 0 Judge: Hon. Randall S. Stamen. I am an individual, residing in the County of Riverside, California. I am named as a plaintiff in the above-entitled action. I have personal knowledge of the facts set forth in this declaration, and if called as a witness could competently testify thereto.. This declaration is executed in support of plaintiffs motion for issuance of a preliminary injunction, or in the alternative, to expedite hearing on plaintiffs claims. By and through this motion, we are specifically requesting that this court enjoin the enforcement of the Department of Justice s regulations pertaining to bullet button CASE NO. RIC

2 0 0 assault weapons, and the laws that would otherwise require registration by July, 0.. I am an honorably retired peace officer, having retired after years of cumulative service in law enforcement. I was employed primarily by the Los Angeles Housing Authority Police Department from to 00, and with the Los Angeles Airport Police from 00 until the time I retired in 0. I retired at the rank of Sergeant II. During my time with these agencies, I was a Team Leader on their respective SWAT teams, and in that capacity, I trained extensively with the use of firearms, and have trained others with firearms as well. I have also trained with the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff s Department, among other agencies, and was awarded the Police Star Medal twice for heroism and bravery in the line of duty, in and 00.. Presently, I am president of Solutions Group International (SGI), in Riverside, California, a private firearms training group specializing in training law enforcement, security services and citizens to be proficient with all types of firearms (pistol, rifle and shotgun), and at all levels.. Prior to December, 0, and while a private citizen, I legally obtained and possessed a Saiga-, which is a widely-owned type of semi-automatic shotgun. This is a popular type of shotgun among competition shooters because it uses a removable box magazine to feed -gauge shotgun shells, thereby allowing shooters to compete in the Open division of many three-gun competitions, both in this state and on the national level.. The Saiga- shotgun that I own, like most others, has a traditional pistol grip, but it does not have a folding or telescoping stock, and therefore, it does not meet and has never met the definition of an assault weapon under Cal. Penal Code 0(a)() (because it does not have both of those features). At the time I purchased the shotgun, I was able to purchase this firearm without controversy or incident, or having to apply for or obtain an assault weapons permit. Neither the seller, nor the Federal CASE NO. RIC

3 0 0 Firearms Licensee (FFL) processing the transfer required an assault weapons permit to complete this transfer.. The Saiga- shotgun that I own does have a bullet button which prevents the magazine from being manually released without the use of a tool, such as a bullet. This device therefore prevents this firearm from being a semi-automatic shotgun that has the ability to accept a detachable magazine. As such, and again, it has never been classified as an assault weapon under Penal Code 0(a)().. I am informed and believe, and have thereon alleged, after review of the DOJ regulations that are attached to and form the basis of our complaint, that I am now being required by the DOJ to register my Saiga- shotgun, according to CCR 0(d), which expressly states: A semiautomatic shotgun with an ammunition feeding device that can be readily removed from the firearm with the use of a tool, commonly referred to as a bullet-button weapon, is included in the category of firearms that must be registered.. This action by the DOJ is unwarranted, and, in my view, illegal for several reasons. First, as stated, the Legislature has never classified a shotgun equipped with a bullet button as an assault weapon. (See generally, Complaint,, which I have verified on information and belief.) In fact, it was by virtue of the bullet button that it fell outside of the traditional, legislatively-crafted definition of an assault weapon because it did not have the ability, by itself, to accept a detachable magazine. When the Legislature changed the definition of assault weapon in 0 by enacting SB 0 and AB, by including so-called assault weapons to include firearms with fixed magazines (a specifically defined term under 0(b)), it did not alter the definition of assault weapon as it pertains to semiautomatic shotguns. 0. However, by requiring registration of this weapon, and other similar semiautomatic shotguns, the DOJ is apparently creating potential criminal liability for me, and for many others similarly situated (i.e., who have similar semi-automatic shotguns CASE NO. RIC

4 0 0 equipped with bullet button devices) for failing to or refusing to register it. By virtue of CCR 0(d), I am therefore being exposed to potential criminal liability for continuing to possess this lawfully-obtained and owned firearm without registering it, which is something I am not required to do by statute. The DOJ has, by issuing this regulation, clearly overstepped its authority in creating such potential liability without legislative authority.. Moreover, by requiring me to register this weapon, and once it is registered as an assault weapon, it creates substantial, irreparable injury in other ways as well. Once registered as an assault weapon under California law, I cannot transfer, sell it to anyone else, or even pass it onto my heirs. Cal. Pen. Code 000. In fact, after my passing, it must be surrendered to the State. This is deprivation of a substantial interest in personal property which the DOJ is therefore issued by regulation alone.. I further object to the unnecessary, costly and intrusive nature of the registration process now being required. I should not have to pay registration fees, and provide personal information to the DOJ including my address, telephone number, date of birth, sex, height, weight, eye color, hair color, and California driver s license number or California identification card number, etc., along with digital photographs, and other documentation which are unnecessary for the DOJ to have. And moreover, since I acquired the Saiga- shotgun in 0, I was already required, by virtue of AB 0 (0), to furnish to the Department all personal and transactional information for use in the Department s registry, including but not limited to: my full name and all names ever used, my address, place of birth, complete telephone number, occupation, sex, as well as complete firearm information, all of which was required by Pen. Code 0. In other words, I have already provided all of this information to them when I acquired the shotgun, and the Department presumably has this information on file. // // CASE NO. RIC

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