SECTIONS 26000-26060 - California Statutes

PENAL CODE

SECTION 26000-26060

26000. Section 25850 does not apply to members of the military
forces of this state or of the United States engaged in the
performance of their duties.

26005. Section 25850 does not apply to either of the following:
(a) Persons who are using target ranges for the purpose of
practice shooting with a firearm.
(b) Members of shooting clubs while hunting on the premises of
those clubs.

26010. Section 25850 does not apply to the carrying of any handgun
by any person as authorized pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with
Section 26150) of Division 5.

26015. Section 25850 does not apply to any armored vehicle guard,
as defined in Section 7582.1 of the Business and Professions Code, if
either of the following conditions is satisfied:
(a) The guard was hired prior to January 1, 1977, and is acting
within the course and scope of employment.
(b) The guard was hired on or after January 1, 1977, has received
a firearms qualification card from the Department of Consumer
Affairs, and is acting within the course and scope of employment.

26020. (a) Upon approval of the sheriff of the county in which the
retiree resides, Section 25850 does not apply to any honorably
retired federal officer or agent of any federal law enforcement
agency, including, but not limited to, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, the Secret Service, the United States Customs Service,
the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Federal
Bureau of Narcotics, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United
States Border Patrol, and any officer or agent of the Internal
Revenue Service who was authorized to carry weapons while on duty,
who was assigned to duty within the state for a period of not less
than one year, or who retired from active service in the state.
(b) A retired federal officer or agent shall provide the sheriff
with certification from the agency from which the officer or agent
retired certifying that person's service in the state, the nature of
that person's retirement, and indicating the agency's concurrence
that the retired federal officer or agent should be accorded the
privilege of carrying a loaded firearm.
(c) Upon approval, the sheriff shall issue a permit to the retired
federal officer or agent indicating that the retiree may carry a
loaded firearm in accordance with this section. The permit shall be
valid for a period not exceeding five years, shall be carried by the
retiree while carrying a loaded firearm, and may be revoked for good
cause.
(d) The sheriff of the county in which the retired federal officer
or agent resides may require recertification prior to a permit
renewal, and may suspend the privilege for cause. The sheriff may
charge a fee necessary to cover any reasonable expenses incurred by
the county.

26025. Section 25850 does not apply to any of the following who
have completed a regular course in firearms training approved by the
Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training:
(a) Patrol special police officers appointed by the police
commission of any city, county, or city and county under the express
terms of its charter who also, under the express terms of the
charter, satisfy all of the following requirements:
(1) They are subject to suspension or dismissal after a hearing on
charges duly filed with the commission after a fair and impartial
trial.
(2) They are not less than 18 years of age or more than 40 years
of age.
(3) They possess physical qualifications prescribed by the
commission.
(4) They are designated by the police commission as the owners of
a certain beat or territory as may be fixed from time to time by the
police commission.
(b) Animal control officers or zookeepers, regularly compensated
in that capacity by a governmental agency, when carrying weapons
while acting in the course and scope of their employment and when
designated by a local ordinance or, if the governmental agency is not
authorized to act by ordinance, by a resolution, either individually
or by class, to carry the weapons.
(c) Persons who are authorized to carry the weapons pursuant to
Section 14502 of the Corporations Code, while actually engaged in the
performance of their duties pursuant to that section.
(d) Harbor police officers designated pursuant to Section 663.5 of
the Harbors and Navigation Code.

26030. (a) Section 25850 does not apply to any of the following who
have been issued a certificate pursuant to subdivision (d):
(1) Guards or messengers of common carriers, banks, and other
financial institutions, while actually employed in and about the
shipment, transportation, or delivery of any money, treasure,
bullion, bonds, or other thing of value within this state.
(2) Guards of contract carriers operating armored vehicles
pursuant to California Highway Patrol and Public Utilities Commission
authority, if they were hired prior to January 1, 1977.
(3) Guards of contract carriers operating armored vehicles
pursuant to California Highway Patrol and Public Utilities Commission
authority, if they were hired on or after January 1, 1977, and they
have completed a course in the carrying and use of firearms that
meets the standards prescribed by the Department of Consumer Affairs.
(4) Private investigators licensed pursuant to Chapter 11.3
(commencing with Section 7512) of Division 3 of the Business and
Professions Code, while acting within the course and scope of their
employment.
(5) Uniformed employees of private investigators licensed pursuant
to Chapter 11.3 (commencing with Section 7512) of Division 3 of the
Business and Professions Code, while acting within the course and
scope of their employment.
(6) Private patrol operators licensed pursuant to Chapter 11.5
(commencing with Section 7580) of Division 3 of the Business and
Professions Code, while acting within the course and scope of their
employment.
(7) Uniformed employees of private patrol operators licensed
pursuant to Chapter 11.5 (commencing with Section 7580) of Division 3
of the Business and Professions Code, while acting within the course
and scope of their employment.
(8) Alarm company operators licensed pursuant to Chapter 11.6
(commencing with Section 7590) of Division 3 of the Business and
Professions Code, while acting within the course and scope of their
employment.
(9) Uniformed security guards or night watch persons employed by
any public agency, while acting within the scope and course of their
employment.
(10) Uniformed security guards, regularly employed and compensated
in that capacity by persons engaged in any lawful business, and
uniformed alarm agents employed by an alarm company operator, while
actually engaged in protecting and preserving the property of their
employers, or on duty or en route to or from their residences or
their places of employment, and security guards and alarm agents en
route to or from their residences or employer-required range
training.
(b) Nothing in paragraph (10) of subdivision (a) shall be
construed to prohibit cities and counties from enacting ordinances
requiring alarm agents to register their names.
(c) A certificate under this section shall not be required of any
person who is a peace officer, who has completed all training
required by law for the exercise of the person's power as a peace
officer, and who is employed while not on duty as a peace officer.
(d) The Department of Consumer Affairs may issue a certificate to
any person referred to in this section, upon notification by the
school where the course was completed, that the person has
successfully completed a course in the carrying and use of firearms
and a course of training in the exercise of the powers of arrest,
which meet the standards prescribed by the department pursuant to
Section 7583.5 of the Business and Professions Code.

26035. Nothing in Section 25850 shall prevent any person engaged in
any lawful business, including a nonprofit organization, or any
officer, employee, or agent authorized by that person for lawful
purposes connected with that business, from having a loaded firearm
within the person's place of business, or any person in lawful
possession of private property from having a loaded firearm on that
property.

26040. Nothing in Section 25850 shall prevent any person from
carrying a loaded firearm in an area within an incorporated city
while engaged in hunting, provided that the hunting at that place and
time is not prohibited by the city council.

26045. (a) Nothing in Section 25850 is intended to preclude the
carrying of any loaded firearm, under circumstances where it would
otherwise be lawful, by a person who reasonably believes that any
person or the property of any person is in immediate, grave danger
and that the carrying of the weapon is necessary for the preservation
of that person or property.
(b) A violation of Section 25850 is justifiable when a person who
possesses a firearm reasonably believes that person is in grave
danger because of circumstances forming the basis of a current
restraining order issued by a court against another person who has
been found to pose a threat to the life or safety of the person who
possesses the firearm. This subdivision may not apply when the
circumstances involve a mutual restraining order issued pursuant to
Division 10 (commencing with Section 6200) of the Family Code absent
a factual finding of a specific threat to the person's life or
safety. It is not the intent of the Legislature to limit, restrict,
or narrow the application of current statutory or judicial authority
to apply this or other justifications to a defendant charged with
violating Section 25400 or committing another similar offense. Upon
trial for violating Section 25850, the trier of fact shall determine
whether the defendant was acting out of a reasonable belief that the
defendant was in grave danger.
(c) As used in this section, "immediate" means the brief interval
before and after the local law enforcement agency, when reasonably
possible, has been notified of the danger and before the arrival of
its assistance.

26050. Nothing in Section 25850 is intended to preclude the
carrying of a loaded firearm by any person while engaged in the act
of making or attempting to make a lawful arrest.

26055. Nothing in Section 25850 shall prevent any person from
having a loaded weapon, if it is otherwise lawful, at the person's
place of residence, including any temporary residence or campsite.

26060. Nothing in Section 25850 shall prevent any person from
storing aboard any vessel or aircraft any loaded or unloaded rocket,
rocket propelled projectile launcher, or similar device designed
primarily for emergency or distress signaling purposes, or from
possessing that type of a device while in a permitted hunting area or
traveling to or from a permitted hunting area and carrying a valid
California permit or license to hunt.