Is It Easy to Get Approved for Gun Permit in Ca Reddir

A person moving to California with guns must know three essential pools of information regarding the State's firearms laws. These pertain to the transportation of firearms, the possession of firearms, and the compliance with state firearm reporting requirements.

In general, California gun laws provide that persons transporting a firearm must ensure that it is both unloaded and stored in a locked container inside the vehicle (such as a trunk). Non-concealable firearms, however, generally only have to be unloaded when in transport.

State law prohibits certain people from possessing and acquiring a gun. Some of these people include:

1. convicted felons,
2. persons addicted to narcotics,
3. persons who suffer from a mental illness, and
4. anyone under the age of 18.

California law also prohibits the following:

• people to openly carry a gun (a crime per Penal Code 26350 PC),
• people to carry a concealed weapon without a CCW permit.

Note too that California's red flag law allows coworkers, employers and teachers to seek restraining orders to remove guns from the possession of potentially dangerous people.

Per Penal Code 17000 and 27560, any person moving into California with a firearm is considered a "personal firearm importer" and is required by law to:

• complete and submit a New Resident Report of Firearm Ownership (BOF 4010A) to California's Department of Justice, and
• do so with a payment of $19.00.

In the alternative, new Californians can sell or transfer their firearms to either:

• a California licensed firearms dealer, or
• a California police department.

A violation of a State gun law can lead to either misdemeanor or felony charges. In addition, a crime under these laws can be punished with either:

• imprisonment in the county jail, or
• custody in the state prison.

Our California criminal defense attorneys will answer these 3 key questions in this article:

• 1. How does a person legally transport a gun in California?
  • 1.1 .Handguns
  • 1.2. Non-concealable firearms
  • 1.3. Assault weapons
• 2. Is anyone prohibited from possessing a gun in California?
• 3. How does a new resident properly report his/her gun(s)?

Typically, the safest way to legally transport your gun is locked and unloaded in the trunk of your vehicle.

1. How does a person legally transport a gun in California?

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution provides people with the right to bear arms.

State laws, though, provide some limitations on this right and also some requirements to lawfully exercise it.

For example, California law imposes several requirements as to how guns must be transported in the state. These requirements, though, differ a bit depending on whether the gun is:

• a handgun that can be concealed,
• a firearm that cannot be concealed, or
• an assault rifle.

Note that many of the rules regarding the transportation of firearms in California can be found on the State of California's Department of Justice's (DOJ's) website.

1.1. Handguns

To lawfully transport a handgun in a vehicle, a new resident must ensure that it is:

1. unloaded,
2. locked in the trunk of the vehicle or in a locked container inside the vehicle, and
3. apparent, or not concealed inside the vehicle.¹

Gun ammo can be either stored in:

• the locked container, or
• some other carrying device.

Gun owners have to follow these rules no matter if they are:

• the driver of the vehicle, or
• a passenger inside the car.

Note that a "handgun" includes items like:

• revolvers,
• semiautomatic pistols, and
• most firearms equipped with a pistol grip.

1.2. Non-concealable firearms

The State of California says that firearms that cannot be concealed must be unloaded when in transport.²

Typically, local laws say that non-concealable firearms do not have to be in a locked container. United States federal law, though, says that some types of firearms do have to be in a locked container or in a gun rack when in a school zone.³ "School zones" are the areas within 1,000 feet of the grounds of a K-12 school.⁴

Note that firearms that cannot be concealed include:

• shotguns,
• long guns,
• rifles,
• carbines,
• centerfire rifles, and
• submachine guns.

1.3. Assault weapons

On June 4, 2021, a federal judge overturned California's ban on assault weapons on the grounds that it violates the constitutional right to bear arms under the Second Amendment. But assault weapons remain illegal in California while the state appeals the ruling.

When transporting an assault weapon, new California residents must ensure that it is:

1. unloaded, and
2. stored in a locked container.⁵

Further, California's firearms laws say that assault weapons can only be transported to and from:

• a licensed firearms dealer for servicing or repair,
• the gun owner's private property,
• someone else's property, provided that the property owner has given the person permission to bring the gun,
• a firing range,
• a shooting club that is licensed as such under the State's Fish and Game Code,
• a firearms exhibition, display, or educational project organized by a law enforcement agency or a recognized firearms organization, or
• public land, with the specific permission of the agency managing it.⁶

While on the topic of assault weapons, it is important to note that California law allows the use of both:

• detachable magazines, and
• large-capacity magazines.

Convicted felons are prohibited from possessing a firearm in the state of California.

2. Is anyone prohibited from possessing a gun in California?

State law says that certain people in California are prohibited from firearm ownership and firearm possession. These people include:

1. felons (that is, anyone convicted of any felony offense in any jurisdiction),⁷
2. persons who are addicted to narcotics,⁸
3. persons with two or more convictions under Penal Code Section 417, California's law against brandishing a weapon,⁹
4. persons convicted of certain misdemeanor offenses (such as a violation of Penal Code 273.5),
5. persons who suffer from mental illness (people placed on two involuntary psychiatric holds in a year get a lifetime gun ban),¹⁰ and
6. people under 18 (people under 21 may not purchase a gun).¹¹

California law also prohibits the following:

• people to openly carry a firearm (this is an "open carry" offense per Penal Code 26350 PC),
• people to carry a concealed weapon without a CCW permit.

Note that per California's Bureau of Firearms, to assist in proper gun control, the DOJ has up to 30 days to complete background checks on firearms purchasers.¹²

Note too that California's red flag law allows coworkers, employers, and teachers to seek restraining orders to remove guns from the possession of potentially dangerous people.

3. How does a new resident properly report of his/her gun(s)?

Per Penal Code 17000 and 27560, any person moving into California with a firearm is considered a "personal firearm importer" and is required by law to do one of the following within 60 days:

• complete and submit a New Resident Report of Firearm Ownership (BOF 4010A), along with $19.00 to the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Firearms,
• sell or transfer the firearm to a California licensed firearms dealer, or
• sell or transfer the firearm to a California police department.¹³

Note that persons choosing this last option should contact the law enforcement agency for instructions prior to transporting the gun to the agency.

Also note that persons choosing to keep their firearms must obtain a California Firearm Safety Certificate.

---

Legal References:

townsendortabow.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.shouselaw.com/ca/defense/gun-laws/moving-to-california-with-guns/

Share this post