Opinion No. (2001)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General GREGORY L. GONOT Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE GEORGE W. KENNEDY, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA, has requested an opinion on the following question: May a law enforcement officer seize a firearm from a person on the basis that the person is the subject of an "emergency protective order"? CONCLUSION A law enforcement officer may seize a firearm from a person on the basis that the person is the subject of an "emergency protective order" if the order includes an existing restraining order as specified in Family Code section 6218 ANALYSIS The Legislature has enacted a comprehensive statutory scheme, the Domestic Violence Prevention Act (Fam. Code, §§ 6200 - 6390 ; "Act") 1 "to prevent the recurrence of acts of violence and sexual abuse and to provide for a separation of the persons involved in the domestic violence for a period sufficient to enable these persons to seek a resolution of the causes of the violence" (§ 6220 ; see Caldwell v. Coppola (1990) 219 Cal.App.3d 859 , 863 ). The question presented for resolution concerns whether a law enforcement officer may seize a firearm from a person because the person is the…