newbi here with a question...

[eluno]

Hi all,
I am new to this site mostly because I have a question concerning interstate travel. I do not have a conceal permit and am going to travel to California soon. What am I allowed to do there and what am I not? Can I carry a handgun loaded in my car in CA?
El

[NDS]

Welcome to the site.

I visit CA several times a year and until recently I just tossed my loaded pistol into the trunk and thought I'd be fine. Wrong, in CA the handgun must be cased in the trunk with the ammo in a separate container. Magazines must be unloaded if they are in the pistol. I wonder sometimes if CA DOJ even considers visiting CA with a handgun legal. I'll continue to bring mine with me when I visit my wife's family, but I try to stay legal. Check the 'Calguns' forum and you'll find discussions where CA residents have hashed out any conceivable twist, exception, or complication to CA law.

ETA: DO NOT take any magazines, handgun or pistol, of greater than 10 round capacity into CA with you; they take that law very seriously. Don't take your AR15 or AK with you, among other things. A .410 pistol is not allowed--the list of insanity is long for that state.

[CA CCWInstructor]

Originally Posted by NDS

Welcome to the site.

Wrong, in CA the handgun must be cased in the trunk with the ammo in a separate container.

The case in the truck must locked!

12026.1.
(1) The firearm is within a motor vehicle and it is locked in the
vehicle's trunk or in a locked container in the vehicle other than
the utility or glove compartment.
(2) The firearm is carried by the person directly to or from any
motor vehicle for any lawful purpose and, while carrying the firearm,
the firearm is contained within a locked container.

[NDS]

Originally Posted by CA CCWInstructor

The case in the truck must locked!

Thanks-I didin't make that clear. I left CA in '79 and just tossing it in the trunk, or even on the dash unloaded was ok then. Over the years, I didn't realize the law had changed and I found out about 3 years ago that I was an instant criminal because my attempt at compliance wasn't good enough. Luckily I had never been pulled over. When I cross the state line into CA now, I comply with the statutes you posted. Pistol locked in a case, ammo in another case and the whole works in the trunk.

[eluno]

Thanks for the info. So to be sure I 1. unload the weapon and mag 2. separate both 3. place the weapon in a locked container, Place container in an area not easily accessible, 4. enjoy California and tell the bad guys not to mug you in a very stern voice.

[NDS]

Should your stern voice make them cry or lead to a lessening of their self-esteem you will likely have to undergo a court-ordered attitude adjustment accompanied by community service.

Originally Posted by eluno

Thanks for the info. So to be sure I 1. unload the weapon and mag 2. separate both 3. place the weapon in a locked container, Place container in an area not easily accessible, 4. enjoy California and tell the bad guys not to mug you in a very stern voice.

[CA CCWInstructor]

CA Penal Code does not say anything about loaded mags outside the locked container with the unloaded inside of it. You just can't have loaded mags in the locked container.

[udcG26]

Just Boycott California. I don't even eat their oranges. Florida has much better laws, and fewer illegal aliens.

[gvaldeg1]

Originally Posted by udcG26

Just Boycott California. I don't even eat their oranges. Florida has much better laws, and fewer illegal aliens.

California has so much beautiful country to see and so many things to see and do. Anyway, if I'm going there or through there, I just stick a lockable case (like the ones the guns come shipped in) in the trunk and "pop" an unloaded gun into it while I'm in California. (If you're traveling with more than one gun, bring extra cases and locks.) Problem solved!

[swifteagle]

When in California remember to ask any criminal who attacks you to please give you a little extra time to allow you to open your trunk, unlock your case, retrieve your handgun, retrieve your magazine, load it into your gun, rack the slide, aim your gun, & shoot.

You should have plenty of time because the criminal will have to go through the same process to grab his or her illegal gun since he or she will obviously obey the same law.

Warning: sarcasm is oozing from this post.