What California actually regulates.
California regulates firearms more comprehensively than most states, and the important consequence is that a great many weapons charges involve no violence and no threat at all. The offence is the possession, the carrying, or the configuration of the item itself. People who have broken no other law are charged under these sections regularly.
The most common example is a firearm lawfully owned in another state and carried into California, where the same conduct is an offence. Another is a magazine or a feature that is unremarkable elsewhere and prohibited here. A third is possession by someone who did not know a prior conviction had made them a prohibited person, which happens more often than it should.
Separately, firearm allegations attach to other charges as enhancements. Penal Code 12022.5 and 12022.53 add substantial consecutive exposure where a firearm is alleged in connection with a felony, and they are charged and proved separately from the offence itself. That means they can also be contested separately, which is frequently where the most is available.
Weapons charges I defend.
These are the weapons and firearm charges I defend across California.
Carrying and possession offences
- Carrying a concealed firearm (Penal Code 25400). A wobbler, and one of the most commonly charged offences in this area.
- Carrying a loaded firearm in public (Penal Code 25850). A separate offence from concealment, with its own definitions of loaded and of public place.
- Openly carrying an unloaded firearm (Penal Code 26350). Chargeable notwithstanding that the firearm was unloaded and visible.
- Brandishing a weapon (Penal Code 417). Displaying a weapon in a rude or threatening manner, without using it.
- Generally prohibited weapons (Penal Code 16590). The list of items that are unlawful to possess at all, which is longer than most people expect.
Prohibited persons and prohibited weapons
- Felon in possession of a firearm (Penal Code 29800). A lifetime prohibition following any felony conviction. Amended in 2024.
- Prohibited possession after a misdemeanour (Penal Code 29805). A ten-year prohibition following certain misdemeanour convictions, which catches people who did not know it applied. Amended in 2024.
- Prohibited possession of ammunition (Penal Code 30305). A separate offence from possessing the firearm, and chargeable on its own.
- Assault weapons (Penal Code 30600). Turns on configuration and features rather than on how the firearm was used.
- Machine guns (Penal Code 32625). Possession alone carries substantial exposure.
- Shooting from a vehicle (Penal Code 26100). A serious felony carrying strike consequences.
Charges often filed alongside
- Assault with a deadly weapon (Penal Code 245(a)(1)). Frequently filed alongside where a firearm was displayed rather than discharged.
- Armed during a drug offence (Health and Safety Code 11370.1). Converts a possession case into something far more serious. Amended in 2024.
- Criminal threats (Penal Code 422). Commonly charged where a weapon was present during an argument. Amended in 2025.
- Domestic violence firearm consequences (Penal Code 273.5). Carries its own federal firearm prohibition independent of California law.
Firearm enhancements
Enhancements are charged separately from the offence and can carry more exposure than the count they attach to.
- Personal use of a firearm (Penal Code 12022.5). Adds substantial consecutive time where a firearm was used in a felony.
- Firearm enhancements in listed felonies (Penal Code 12022.53). The most serious of the firearm enhancements, with exposure that can exceed the underlying count.
- Gang enhancement (Penal Code 186.22). Requires proof about an organisation, not only about you. Tightened in 2021.
- Reduction of a felony to a misdemeanour (Penal Code 17(b)). Available on the wobbler offences here, and it restores rights a felony does not. Amended in 2024.
If you are lawfully licensed in another state and were charged here, or if you did not know a prior conviction made you a prohibited person, say so early. Neither is a complete answer by itself, but both change what the case is actually about.
What a weapons conviction can cost.
Weapons convictions carry consequences that persist long after the sentence, and the central one is self-reinforcing.
- Firearm rights. A felony conviction carries a lifetime prohibition; several misdemeanours carry a ten-year one. Possession afterwards is itself a new offence, which is how people end up in this area twice.
- Custody. From none on a first carrying offence through to substantial state prison exposure where an enhancement applies.
- Strike consequences. Some offences here, including shooting from a vehicle, are strikes and are counted permanently.
- Professional licensing. Security, law enforcement and any role requiring a firearm become closed, and boards act independently of the court.
- Immigration. Firearm offences are a specific ground of deportability, separate from the general categories.
- Concealed carry permits. A conviction ends eligibility, and in practice ends it permanently.
Because the prohibition is what generates the next case, a resolution that preserves firearm rights is often worth more than a shorter sentence.
Why knowledge and possession are the arguments.
Possession is not the same as ownership
These sections turn on knowing possession and on control, which is not the same as title. Firearms found in shared vehicles, in shared homes, or in property belonging to someone else raise a genuine question about whose possession it was, and the answer is often less obvious than the report assumes.
Knowledge of the prohibition has to be established
Prohibited person charges require that the person knew of the conviction that created the prohibition. People are regularly unaware that a misdemeanour carried a ten-year bar, and that is a real issue rather than a technicality.
The search is usually where the case is decided
Almost every weapons charge follows a stop or a search, and whether the stop was justified, whether the search exceeded its scope, and whether consent was voluntary are all litigable. Where the firearm is suppressed there is generally nothing left.
What experience with these cases actually changes
It is knowing which of these offences are wobblers worth reducing, when an enhancement is genuinely vulnerable, and how the configuration questions around assault weapons are actually litigated rather than described. I have been doing this since 1999.
Whether hiring an attorney is worth it depends on what is charged. On a first misdemeanour carrying offence with no record, there are people who reasonably handle it themselves. Where a felony is charged, where an enhancement is alleged, or where your work depends on being able to possess a firearm, the consequences compound and are difficult to reverse. Call me and I will tell you which situation you are in, and what representation would cost.
How I defend weapons cases.
- Testing the search — the stop, the scope, the consent and the warrant, because this is where these cases most often turn.
- Testing possession — whether knowing possession and control can actually be established, particularly in shared vehicles and shared homes.
- Testing the enhancement — separately from the offence, since it is charged separately and frequently attached more readily than it is proved.
- Configuration and classification — where an assault weapon or prohibited item allegation depends on features rather than on conduct.
- Protecting rights — pursuing resolutions that preserve firearm eligibility where that is achievable, including reduction under Penal Code 17(b).
- Personal attention — you work with us directly.
I have been licensed to practise in California since 1999, State Bar number 203402, and I defend these cases across nine Northern California counties from offices in Sacramento and Roseville. When you call, tell me whether an enhancement is alleged and whether your work requires a firearm.
Where I handle weapons cases.
I appear in the criminal courts of all nine counties below. The court that hears your case is set by where the arrest happened.
Sacramento County Placer County Yolo County El Dorado County San Joaquin County Butte County Yuba County Solano County Sutter County
Where a city has enough demand for this charge to warrant its own page, I have written one:
Weapons questions I hear most.
I am licensed to carry in another state. Why was I charged in California?
Because California does not generally recognise out-of-state carry permits, and the conduct that is lawful where you live can be an offence under Penal Code 25400 or 25850 here. This is one of the most common ways people with no criminal history end up charged with a weapons offence. It is not a complete defence, but it matters to how the case is resolved.
Can I be charged if the firearm was not mine?
The offence is knowing possession and control rather than ownership, so a firearm belonging to someone else can still support a charge if you knowingly possessed it. Where a firearm is found in a shared vehicle or a shared home, whose possession it was is a genuine question, and it is often the strongest part of the defence.
What is a firearm enhancement and why does it add so much time?
Penal Code 12022.5 and 12022.53 add consecutive terms where a firearm is alleged in connection with a felony. They are charged and proved separately from the underlying offence, and in some cases carry more exposure than it does. Being separate also means they can be contested separately, which is often where the most is available.
I did not know my old misdemeanour stopped me owning a firearm.
Penal Code 29805 creates a ten-year prohibition following certain misdemeanour convictions, and people are regularly unaware of it. Knowledge of the conviction that created the prohibition is part of what has to be established, so this is a real issue rather than a technicality.
Will a weapons conviction stop me owning firearms permanently?
A felony conviction carries a lifetime prohibition under California and federal law. Several misdemeanours carry a ten-year bar. Reduction of a wobbler to a misdemeanour under Penal Code 17(b) changes this in some cases, which is why it is often worth more than a shorter sentence — see record relief.
What happens if a firearm was found during a drug arrest?
It changes the case considerably. Health and Safety Code 11370.1 covers being armed during a drug offence, separate weapons counts usually follow, and diversion eligibility is generally lost. See drug crimes.
What does defending a weapons case cost?
It depends on whether it is charged as a felony or a misdemeanour, whether an enhancement is alleged, and whether a search motion is likely. Call and I will tell you what representation in your situation would cost before you commit to anything.
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