Law and safe practice for storing and transporting firearms?

jyl · jyl's Garage

Looking for some advice from the gun owners among us.

I want to make sure I am aware of the laws, and the safe practice, governing possession and transportation of firearms in the State of California, specifically the SF Bay Area. By "firearm" I mean pistols (Glock 19, Luger, Ruger .22) and and shotgun (Mossberg pump, 18" barrel). Assume I'm not a felon or otherwise among the classes of people prohibited from possessing firearms.

Based on the searches I've done so far, my belief is:
- By law, I do not need a permit to possess these firearms in my home
- To be safe, I will store the pistols in a locked case, with ammunition in a separate locked case, when in my home
- To be safe, I will store the shotgun in a locked case, with ammunition in a separate locked case, when in my home
- By law, the pistols must be unloaded and in a locked container or in the locked trunk, if being transported in my car
- By law, the shotgun must be unloaded if being transported in my car
- To be safe, I will transport the pistols unloaded in a locked pistol case, with ammunition in a separate locked case, both locked in the trunk.
- To be safe, I will transport the shotgun unloaded in a locked rifle case, with ammunition in a separate locked case, both locked in the trunk.

I am not asking about concealed carry, which I know is another kettle of fish entirely. Also, I'm not trying to have the firearms quickly accessible when at home.

Sound right? If the pistols are in the locked case, would you also use trigger locks?

Can anyone refer me to a good website discussing these issues?

FrayAdjacent911 · 09-03-2005, 10:07 PM

www.packing.org

You can look up gun laws, particularly concealed carry and transportation by state.

jyl · jyl's Garage

Thanks, Matt.

Hmm. Looks like in 2003 California started requiring a Handgun Safety Certificate before purchasing or receiving a pistol. The law doesn't seem to apply to pistols acquired prior to 2003, as mine all were. I might go get the HSC anyway, might be a good safety refresher.

RoninLB · 09-03-2005, 10:37 PM

afaik... a rule of thumb is that it should take 3 steps before the gun is ready to shoot.

HardDrive · 09-04-2005, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by RoninLB
afaik... a rule of thumb is that it should take 3 steps before the gun is ready to shoot.

1) Put down beer
2) Put down cigar
3) Aim.

RoninLB · 09-04-2005, 05:06 AM

I guess that's in the "spirit" of the law?

artplumber · 09-04-2005, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jyl
Sound right? If the pistols are in the locked case, would you also use trigger locks?

I'd encourage you to do both, especially if there are kids around.

jyl · jyl's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by artplumber
I'd encourage you to do both, especially if there are kids around.

There are, so I probably will. Although I may have to use a locking cable through the magazine well and slide, instead of a trigger lock. There doesn't seem to be enough room behind the Glock's trigger for a lock.

tabs · 09-04-2005, 08:30 AM

You better be sure it's STILL LEGAL TO OWN A HANDGUN IN SAN FRANCISCO....or OAKLAND......

CA will only let U buy ONE handgun a month.....

CA has a bill that has passed the Assembly and is in the Senate that will require that EVERY bullet have a SERIAL NUMBER on it....

CA has Saturday Night Special Law that requires that Handguns go through a drop test.....if a Handgun is not on the list a FFL Dealer CANNOT sell that gun...Manufacturers are only submitting current production guns for testing if at all...so the list is kinda short....

CA has made Assualt Weapons, 50 Cal Rifles and HI Cap Magazines Illegal to own....

Joeaksa · 09-04-2005, 08:36 AM

http://www.gunlaws.com/

One of the best sites there is for information on this subject.

JoeA

campbellcj · 09-04-2005, 11:10 AM

San Francisco is one of the most anti-gun localities in the nation. If you live in the city limits, be extremely cautious and stay up to date on the laws as they're continuously changing. (IIRC right now there is a bill in consideration to completely ban and confiscate all guns in SF).

Your checklist looks about right to me. When transporting in a vehicle it is "ideal" to have guns and ammo in separate locked compartments of the vehicle, i.e. if you have a trunk then put the guns in there and the ammo in the back seat. The trunk is considered a locked container in itself; however, you still need to have a lockable container for handguns to transport them outside of your car across public property.

If you REALLY want the current legal details (vs personal opinion or possible outdated info from some of the third party sites) --

http://ag.ca.gov/firearms/

FrayAdjacent911 · 09-04-2005, 11:44 AM

I'm glad I live in Texas...

As of 9/1, I can carry a loaded handgun in my center console, or anywhere else in my vehicle. Prior, I could carry a loaded rifle without any stipulations.

I guess we realize it's not the people with guns that are the problem, it's the criminals. What a concept!

Anyway, yeah, be careful in Kalifornistan...

jyl · jyl's Garage

Thanks, Chris.

I live in Berkeley. AFAIK the municipal code bans assault rifles only, I'm going to double-check that though. My hi-cap magazines are all pre-the-CA-ban.

ZLP · ZLP's Garage

Cali gun laws are the worst. This state is ass backwards when it comes to this ****. I just moved from AZ to the bay area and all these laws make it extremely hard for citizens to protect themselves.

jyl · jyl's Garage

For home defense, I'm not sure I agree. I can own plenty of firepower - pretty much any pistol and shotgun. I'd imagine the same is true for you in Pleasanton. Outside the home, I agree, as CCW is extremely restricted.