California’s tax talons strike again, this time clawing back at entrepreneur Hari Raghavan four years after he fled the sinking ship of the Golden State. Raghavan shared a screenshot of a stern letter from the Franchise Tax Board demanding back taxes from a period when he claims he was long gone—proof positive that once California sinks its hooks into you, good luck shaking them loose. This isn’t just bureaucratic sloppiness; it’s a calculated shakedown designed to fund the state’s insatiable appetite for progressive pipe dreams, from high-speed rail boondoggles to expansive welfare programs that keep the one-party machine humming.
Dig deeper, and this tale reeks of the same overreach that defines California’s assault on the Second Amendment. Think about it: the same government that ignores federal court rulings to keep assault weapons bans in place, mandates microstamping on firearms that no manufacturer can produce, and treats law-abiding gun owners like criminals with its bloated roster of approved handguns, now plays tax cop across state lines. Raghavan’s ordeal mirrors the plight of 2A patriots who’ve escaped to freer states like Texas or Idaho, only to face lingering harassment via California’s universal background check empire or out-of-state ammo sale crackdowns. It’s no coincidence—the FTB’s long-arm tactics fund the very bureaucracy enforcing AB 1594 and other gun-grab schemes, turning tax dollars into tyrannical tools that erode rights far beyond the border.
The implications for the 2A community are stark: if California can pursue a former resident for years-old taxes with impunity, imagine the precedent for nationwide gun registries or retroactive confiscations. This is a wake-up call to vote with your feet, support reciprocal carry laws, and push for federal limits on blue-state overreach. Raghavan’s story isn’t isolated—it’s the canary in the coal mine for anyone valuing liberty over Sacramento’s suffocating embrace. Time to double down on pro-2A havens before the taxman (and the gun-banner) comes knocking.
