Is Open Carry Legal in California?
Yes. However, there are many restrictions, but generally as long as your firearm is not concealed, and not loaded, and you are not in a prohibited area ("school zone", post office, government building), then it is legal.
I'll have to do more research regarding the laws in Los Angeles as that's where I reside. However, I wanted to post this correction and thank the reader for pointing this out to me.
2 comments:
We have a few more details over at OpenCarry.org, see http://www.opencarry.org/ca.html: "California is not a traditional open carry state. Open carry is generally prohibited except in unincorporated areas where the county has not made open carry illegal, or, pursuant to a CA open carry permit issued and valid only in a county with a population of less than 200,000 persons."
To make loaded open carry unlawful, a county must ban shooting in that area by ordinance.
If you are in an incorporated area or an unincorporated area where shooting is banned by County code, then the police have the power by state law to inspect your gun to make sure it is not loaded.
Unless you are sure of where you are, carry your magazine outside your gun; and make sure you do not enter any school zones. i know, it's complicated, so do your research!
Thanks for the info! CA does make it very difficult for law-abiding citizens to understand what they can or cannot do with their firearms. I'm new to handgun ownership, so I appreciate the links and info.
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