Man behind Gunmageddon repeal initiative: 'Now it is our turn'

Gov. Jerry Brown signed a list of gun control bills set to take effect next year, but a series of ballot initiatives aimed at gun owners may derail them. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/AP)

Barry Bahrami, the California businessman seeking to put six referendums on the ballot in November to repeal a gun control package recently signed into law, is ready for a fight.

As previously reported, Bahrami filed paperwork with the Secretary of State’s office on Friday to repeal a half-dozen new laws signed by Gov. Jerry Brown earlier this month. He told Guns.com that he is trying to raise 450,000 signatures of registered voters on each petition to slam-dunk the 365,000 required by law to make the ballot.

Moreover, time is of the essence, as the paperwork has to be filed by Sept. 29.

“I did it because the clock is ticking and it needed to get done,” Bahrami told Guns.com. “That is all. It is very much an effort of many individuals from all political affiliations coming together to fix the mess created by our elected officials.”

The San Diego area executive feels that now is the time for voters to speak up – before the new laws take effect next January.

“We intend to guarantee the public will be heard before these bills have opportunity to become law,” he said. “I have no doubt they will eventually be overturned in the courts but taking them down now will save the public years of constitutional infringements and unnecessarily legal costs. This is exactly what the people’s veto is for and we will be exercising it soon.”

Since news broke of his efforts, California’s 13 million gun owners have begun to come out in force. In the past week, the Veto Gunmageddon Facebook page has garnered some 5,000 likes and Bahrami is expecting to have a dedicated website up and running in the next few days.

“Voters from all over the state have been coming forward to assist in this effort since the media first published the story and their help is greatly appreciated,” said Bahrami.

Bahrami tells Guns.com that the idea for the voter propositions started in an online forum that caters to California gun enthusiasts, and that he took the next step to stand up and file the paperwork. The grassroots effort is all-volunteer and as of yet has not received any funds from gun rights groups – though that may change.

“While I am a NRA member, this so far has nothing to do with the NRA and I have had little interaction with them over the years,” he said. “I have reached out to them for financial assistance in printing petitions and such. But this effort will proceed with or without them. One way or another we will get this done.”

Going past the referendum, Bahrami feels the next step should be to take the state’s lawmakers to task.

“We intend to veto these measures and at the same time we are exploring recalling public servants who have lost the integrity required to serve as representatives of the people of California,”Bahrami said, bringing up questionable gut-and-amend practices and others seen during the legislative process of the bills which he argues disenfranchised voters.

“Regardless of which side of an issue you are on, we all require our elected representatives to respect the dignity of their office at all times,”Bahrami said. “The committees don’t bother to listen or respect the opposite point of view either.  It has been on full public display.  They have an agenda that is downright dangerous to public safety and nullifies our constitutional rights.”

The state attorney general’s office is expected to issue title and summary for the measures on July 25, which the effort needs before they can print petitions. Once that is done, the campaign is ready to use its newly found army of volunteers to deliver the petitions to gun stores and shooting ranges across California, where they will do the most good.

“We already have the voters, it’s going to come down to the mechanics of getting petitions printed, distributed, signed, returned and filed on time,” Bahrami said.