Gun laws are a subject that has been an issue of debate for quite some time. Some want more stringent laws on the accessibility of both the type of weapons, and to who may have them. Of course others want the freedom and right to possess weapons and not be under constrictive gun laws. In the United States, California is widely considered to have the toughest gun laws.



The gun laws in California can be quite confusing when first glanced over. The gun laws mainly consist of generalized descriptions of weapons that are illegal to have in California. First off, semiautomatic rifles with detachable magazines are banned if they also have a pistol grip under the gun, a thumbhole stock, a folding/telescopic stock, grenade launcher, or a suppressor. Semiautomatic rifle with a fixed magazine are illegal if they have a magazine with a round capacity of over ten rounds. Also, any semiautomatic rifle is banned if the overall length of the gun is less than thirty inches.

Many laws also exist for the possession of pistols. For pistols, any pistol with a detachable magazine is illegal if it has a threaded barrel for the attachment of an accessory, a second hand grip, a shroud for the barrel, or the capacity to accept a detachable magazine outside of the standard pistol grip. Also any semiautomatic pistol with fixed magazine must have a magazine capacity of fewer than ten rounds.

There are also specific gun laws for shotguns. Semiautomatic shotguns cannot have both a folding/collapsible stock and a pistol grip attached at one time. Semiautomatic shotguns that can accept detachable magazines are also banned regardless. Shotguns with a revolving cylinder are also banned regardless. Also there are of course some of laws which seem pretty obvious such as the ban against tracer rounds, armor piercing rounds, .50 rifles, and the use or sale of magazines with a capacity of more than ten rounds.

Although a few of the laws may seem completely obvious others may come as a bit of a surprise. Many of the laws seem to be orientated to prevent guns from being easily concealed and to reduce any unnecessary lethal potential. For example, the laws against having collapsible stocks, a minimum length on rifles, and suppressors are examples of laws preventing concealment. Laws prohibiting more than ten round magazines and revolving cylinders for shotguns are examples of laws against excess lethality.

Concealed carry laws are also strict in California. In most cases it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon. In order to be able to carry a concealed weapon the sheriff of a county or a city police chief must issue a license. The license is rewarded to those based on the sheriff or chief's judgment on the person's character and also reasoning for having a concealed weapon. In many major cities, it has become notoriously difficult to obtain a license to have a concealed weapon. These cities are very critical on what they consider to be a good cause, or reason to carry a concealed weapon.