2007 California Penal Code Chapter 1.3. Unsafe Handguns

CA Codes (pen:12125-12133)

12125.  (a) Commencing January 1, 2001, any person in this state who
manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into the state
for sale, keeps for sale, offers or exposes for sale, gives, or lends
any unsafe handgun shall be punished by imprisonment in a county
jail not exceeding one year.
   (b) This section shall not apply to any of the following:
   (1) The manufacture in this state, or importation into this state,
of any prototype pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being
concealed upon the person when the manufacture or importation is for
the sole purpose of allowing an independent laboratory certified by
the Department of Justice pursuant to Section 12130 to conduct an
independent test to determine whether that pistol, revolver, or other
firearm capable of being concealed upon the person is prohibited by
this chapter, and, if not, allowing the department to add the firearm
to the roster of pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of
being concealed upon the person that may be sold in this state
pursuant to Section 12131.
   (2) The importation or lending of a pistol, revolver, or other
firearm capable of being concealed upon the person by employees or
authorized agents of entities determining whether the weapon is
prohibited by this section.
   (3) Firearms listed as curios or relics, as defined in Section
478.11 of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
   (4) The sale or purchase of any pistol, revolver or other firearm
capable of being concealed upon the person, if the pistol, revolver,
or other firearm is sold to, or purchased by, the Department of
Justice, any police department, any sheriff's official, any marshal's
office, the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency, the California
Highway Patrol, any district attorney's office, or the military or
naval forces of this state or of the United States for use in the
discharge of their official duties.  Nor shall anything in this
section prohibit the sale to, or purchase by, sworn members of these
agencies of any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being
concealed upon the person.
   (c) Violations of subdivision (a) are cumulative with respect to
each handgun and shall not be construed as restricting the
application of any other law.  However, an act or omission punishable
in different ways by this section and other provisions of law shall
not be punished under more than one provision, but the penalty to be
imposed shall be determined as set forth in Section 654.



12126.  As used in this chapter, "unsafe handgun" means any pistol,
revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the
person, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 12001, for which any
of the following is true:
   (a) For a revolver:
   (1) It does not have a safety device that, either automatically in
the case of a double-action firing mechanism, or by manual operation
in the case of a single-action firing mechanism, causes the hammer
to retract to a point where the firing pin does not rest upon the
primer of the cartridge.
   (2) It does not meet the firing requirement for handguns pursuant
to Section 12127.
   (3) It does not meet the drop safety requirement for handguns
pursuant to Section 12128.
   (b) For a pistol:
   (1) It does not have a positive manually operated safety device,
as determined by standards relating to imported guns promulgated by
the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
   (2) It does not meet the firing requirement for handguns pursuant
to Section 12127.
   (3) It does not meet the drop safety requirement for handguns
pursuant to Section 12128.
   (4) Commencing January 1, 2006, for a center fire semiautomatic
pistol that is not already listed on the roster pursuant to Section
12131, it does not have either a chamber load indicator, or a
magazine disconnect mechanism.
   (5) Commencing January 1, 2007, for all center fire semiautomatic
pistols that are not already listed on the roster pursuant to Section
12131, it does not have both a chamber load indicator and if it has
a detachable magazine, a magazine disconnect mechanism.
   (6) Commencing January 1, 2006, for all rimfire semiautomatic
pistols that are not already listed on the roster pursuant to Section
12131, it does not have a magazine disconnect mechanism, if it has a
detachable magazine.
   (7) Commencing January 1, 2010, for all semiautomatic pistols that
are not already listed on the roster pursuant to Section 12131, it
is not designed and equipped with a microscopic array of characters
that identify the make, model, and serial number of the pistol,
etched or otherwise imprinted in two or more places on the interior
surface or internal working parts of the pistol, and that are
transferred by imprinting on each cartridge case when the firearm is
fired, provided that the Department of Justice certifies that the
technology used to create the imprint is available to more than one
manufacturer unencumbered by any patent restrictions. The Attorney
General may also approve a method of equal or greater reliability and
effectiveness in identifying the specific serial number of a firearm
from spent cartridge casings discharged by that firearm than that
which is set forth in this paragraph, to be thereafter required as
otherwise set forth by this paragraph where the Attorney General
certifies that this new method is also unencumbered by any patent
restrictions. Approval by the Attorney General shall include notice
of that fact via regulations adopted by the Attorney General for
purposes of implementing that method for purposes of this paragraph.
The microscopic array of characters required by this section shall
not be considered the name of the maker, model, manufacturer's
number, or other mark of identification, including any distinguishing
number or mark assigned by the Department of Justice, within the
meaning of Sections 12090 and 12094.
   (c) As used in this section, a "chamber load indicator" means a
device that plainly indicates that a cartridge is in the firing
chamber. A device satisfies this definition if it is readily visible,
has incorporated or adjacent explanatory text or graphics, or both,
and is designed and intended to indicate to a reasonably foreseeable
adult user of the pistol, without requiring the user to refer to a
user's manual or any other resource other than the pistol itself,
whether a cartridge is in the firing chamber.
   (d) As used in this section, a "magazine disconnect mechanism"
means a mechanism that prevents a semiautomatic pistol that has a
detachable magazine from operating to strike the primer of ammunition
in the firing chamber when a detachable magazine is not inserted in
the semiautomatic pistol.
   (e) As used in this section, a "semiautomatic pistol" means a
pistol, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 12001, the operating
mode of which uses the energy of the explosive in a fixed cartridge
to extract a fired cartridge and chamber a fresh cartridge with each
single pull of the trigger.


12127.  (a) As used in this chapter, the "firing requirement for
handguns" means a test in which the manufacturer provides three
handguns of the make and model for which certification is sought to
an independent testing laboratory certified by the Attorney General
pursuant to Section 12130.  These handguns may not be refined or
modified in any way from those that would be made available for
retail sale if certification is granted.  The magazines of a tested
pistol shall be identical to those that would be provided with the
pistol to a retail customer.  The laboratory shall fire 600 rounds
from each gun, stopping after each series of 50 rounds has been fired
for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the weapon to cool, stopping after each
series of 100 rounds has been fired to tighten any loose screws and
clean the gun in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, and
stopping as needed to refill the empty magazine or cylinder to
capacity before continuing.  The ammunition used shall be of the type
recommended by the handgun manufacturer in the user manual, or if
none is recommended, any standard ammunition of the correct caliber
in new condition that is commercially available.  A handgun shall
pass this test if each of the three test guns meets both of the
following:
   (1) Fires the first 20 rounds without a malfunction that is not
due to ammunition that fails to detonate.
   (2) Fires the full 600 rounds with no more than six malfunctions
that are not due to ammunition that fails to detonate and without any
crack or breakage of an operating part of the handgun that increases
the risk of injury to the user.
   (b) If a pistol or revolver fails the requirements of either
paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) due to ammunition that fails
to detonate, the pistol or revolver shall be retested from the
beginning of the "firing requirement for handguns" test.  A new model
of the pistol or revolver that failed due to ammunition that fails
to detonate may be submitted for the test to replace the pistol or
revolver that failed.
   (c) As used in this section, "malfunction" means a failure to
properly feed, fire, or eject a round, or failure of a pistol to
accept or eject the magazine, or failure of a pistol's slide to
remain open after the magazine has been expended.



12128.  As used in this chapter, the "drop safety requirement for
handguns" means that at the conclusion of the firing requirements for
handguns described in Section 12127, the same certified independent
testing laboratory shall subject the same three handguns of the make
and model for which certification is sought, to the following test:
   A primed case (no powder or projectile) shall be inserted into the
chamber.  For pistols, the slide shall be released, allowing it to
move forward under the impetus of the recoil spring, and an empty
magazine shall be inserted.  For both pistols and revolvers, the
weapon shall be placed in a drop fixture capable of dropping the
pistol from a drop height of 1m + 1cm (39.4 + 0.4 in.) onto the
largest side of a slab of solid concrete having minimum dimensions of
7.5 X 15 X 15 cm (3 X 6 X 6 in.).  The drop distance shall be
measured from the lowermost portion of the weapon to the top surface
of the slab.  The weapon shall be dropped from a fixture and not from
the hand.  The weapon shall be dropped in the condition that it
would be in if it were dropped from a hand (cocked with no manual
safety applied).  If the design of a pistol is such that upon leaving
the hand a "safety" is automatically applied by the pistol, this
feature shall not be defeated.  An approved drop fixture is a short
piece of string with the weapon attached at one end and the other end
held in an air vise until the drop is initiated.
   The following six drops shall be performed:
   (a) Normal firing position with barrel horizontal.
   (b) Upside down with barrel horizontal.
   (c) On grip with barrel vertical.
   (d) On muzzle with barrel vertical.
   (e) On either side with barrel horizontal.
   (f) If there is an exposed hammer or striker, on the rearmost
point of that device, otherwise on the rearmost point of the weapon.

   The primer shall be examined for indentations after each drop.  If
indentations are present, a fresh primed case shall be used for the
next drop.
   The handgun shall pass this test if each of the three test guns
does not fire the primer.



12129.  Every person who is licensed as a manufacturer of firearms
pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of
the United States Code who manufactures firearms in this state, and
every person who imports into the state for sale, keeps for sale, or
offers or exposes for sale any firearm, shall certify under penalty
of perjury and any other remedy provided by law that every model,
kind, class, style, or type of pistol, revolver, or other firearm
capable of being concealed upon the person that he or she
manufactures or imports, keeps, or exposes for sale is not an unsafe
handgun as prohibited by this chapter.


12130.  (a) Any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being
concealed upon the person manufactured in this state, imported into
the state for sale, kept for sale, or offered or exposed for sale,
shall be tested within a reasonable period of time by an independent
laboratory certified pursuant to subdivision (b) to determine whether
that pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed
upon the person meets or exceeds the standards defined in Section
12126.
   (b) On or before October 1, 2000, the Department of Justice shall
certify laboratories to verify compliance with the standards defined
in Section 12126.  The department may charge any laboratory that is
seeking certification to test any pistol, revolver, or other firearm
capable of being concealed upon the person pursuant to this chapter a
fee not exceeding the costs of certification.
   (c) The certified testing laboratory shall, at the manufacturer's
or importer's expense, test the firearm and submit a copy of the
final test report directly to the Department of Justice along with a
prototype of the weapon to be retained by the department.  The
department shall notify the manufacturer or importer of its receipt
of the final test report and the department's determination as to
whether the firearm tested may be sold in this state.
   (d) (1) Commencing January 1, 2006, no center-fire semiautomatic
pistol may be submitted for testing pursuant to this chapter if it
does not have either a chamber load indicator as defined in
subdivision (c) of Section 12126, or a magazine disconnect mechanism
as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 12126 if it has a detachable
magazine.
   (2) Commencing January 1, 2007, no center-fire semiautomatic
pistol may be submitted for testing pursuant to this chapter if it
does not have both a chamber load indicator as defined in subdivision
(c) of Section 12126 and a magazine disconnect mechanism as defined
in subdivision (d) of Section 12126.
   (3) Commencing January 1, 2006, no rimfire semiautomatic pistol
may be submitted for testing pursuant to this chapter if it has a
detachable magazine, and does not have a magazine disconnect
mechanism as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 12126.



12131.  (a) On and after January 1, 2001, the Department of Justice
shall compile, publish, and thereafter maintain a roster listing all
of the pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of being
concealed upon the person that have been tested by a certified
testing laboratory, have been determined not to be unsafe handguns,
and may be sold in this state pursuant to this title. The roster
shall list, for each firearm, the manufacturer, model number, and
model name.
   (b) (1) The department may charge every person in this state who
is licensed as a manufacturer of firearms pursuant to Chapter 44
(commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code,
and any person in this state who manufactures or causes to be
manufactured, imports into the state for sale, keeps for sale, or
offers or exposes for sale any pistol, revolver, or other firearm
capable of being concealed upon the person in this state, an annual
fee not exceeding the costs of preparing, publishing, and maintaining
the roster pursuant to subdivision (a) and the costs of research and
development, report analysis, firearms storage, and other program
infrastructure costs necessary to implement this chapter.
   (2) Any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being
concealed upon the person that is manufactured by a manufacturer who
manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into the state for
sale, keeps for sale, or offers or exposes for sale any pistol,
revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person
in this state, and who fails to pay any fee required pursuant to
paragraph (1), may be excluded from the roster.
   (3) If a purchaser has initiated a transfer of a handgun that is
listed on the roster as not unsafe, and prior to the completion of
the transfer, the handgun is removed from the roster of not unsafe
handguns because of failure to pay the fee required to keep that
handgun listed on the roster, the handgun shall be deliverable to the
purchaser if the purchaser is not otherwise prohibited from
purchasing or possessing the handgun. However, if a purchaser has
initiated a transfer of a handgun that is listed on the roster as not
unsafe, and prior to the completion of the transfer, the handgun is
removed from the roster pursuant to subdivision (f), the handgun
shall not be deliverable to the purchaser.
   (c) The Attorney General may annually retest up to 5 percent of
the handgun models that are listed on the roster described in
subdivision (a).
   (d) The retesting of a handgun model pursuant to subdivision (c)
shall conform to the following:
   (1) The Attorney General shall obtain from retail or wholesale
sources, or both, three samples of the handgun model to be retested.

   (2) The Attorney General shall select the certified laboratory to
be used for the retesting.
   (3) The ammunition used for the retesting shall be of a type
recommended by the manufacturer in the user manual for the handgun.
If the user manual for the handgun model makes no ammunition
recommendation, the Attorney General shall select the ammunition to
be used for the retesting. The ammunition shall be of the proper
caliber for the handgun, commercially available, and in new
condition.
   (e) The retest shall be conducted in the same manner as the
testing prescribed in Sections 12127 and 12128.
   (f) If the handgun model fails retesting, the Attorney General
shall remove the handgun model from the roster maintained pursuant to
subdivision (a).
   (g) A handgun model removed from the roster pursuant to
subdivision (f) may be reinstated on the roster if all of the
following are met:
   (1) The manufacturer petitions the Attorney General for
reinstatement of the handgun model.
   (2) The manufacturer pays the Department of Justice for all of the
costs related to the reinstatement testing of the handgun model,
including the purchase price of the handguns, prior to reinstatement
testing.
   (3) The reinstatement testing of the handguns shall be in
accordance with subdivisions (d) and (e).
   (4) The three handgun samples shall be tested only once for
reinstatement. If the sample fails it may not be retested.
   (5) If the handgun model successfully passes testing for
reinstatement, and if the manufacturer of the handgun is otherwise in
compliance with this chapter, the Attorney General shall reinstate
the handgun model on the roster maintained pursuant to subdivision
(a).
   (6) The manufacturer shall provide the Attorney General with the
complete testing history for the handgun model.
   (7) Notwithstanding subdivision (c), the Attorney General may, at
any time, further retest any handgun model that has been reinstated
to the roster.



12131.5.  (a) A firearm shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements
of subdivision (a) of Section 12131 if another firearm made by the
same manufacturer is already listed and the unlisted firearm differs
from the listed firearm only in one or more of the following
features:
   (1) Finish, including, but not limited to, bluing, chrome-plating,
oiling, or engraving.
   (2) The material from which the grips are made.
   (3) The shape or texture of the grips, so long as the difference
in grip shape or texture does not in any way alter the dimensions,
material, linkage, or functioning of the magazine well, the barrel,
the chamber, or any of the components of the firing mechanism of the
firearm.
   (4) Any other purely cosmetic feature that does not in any way
alter the dimensions, material, linkage, or functioning of the
magazine well, the barrel, the chamber, or any of the components of
the firing mechanism of the firearm.
   (b) Any manufacturer seeking to have a firearm listed under this
section shall provide to the Department of Justice all of the
following:
   (1) The model designation of the listed firearm.
   (2) The model designation of each firearm that the manufacturer
seeks to have listed under this section.
   (3) A statement, under oath, that each unlisted firearm for which
listing is sought differs from the listed firearm only in one or more
of the ways identified in subdivision (a) and is in all other
respects identical to the listed firearm.
   (c) The department may, in its discretion and at any time, require
a manufacturer to provide to the department any model for which
listing is sought under this section, to determine whether the model
complies with the requirements of this section.



12132.  This chapter shall not apply to any of the following:
   (a) The sale, loan, or transfer of any firearm pursuant to Section
12082 in order to comply with subdivision (d) of Section 12072.
   (b) The sale, loan, or transfer of any firearm that is exempt from
the provisions of subdivision (d) of Section 12072 pursuant to any
applicable exemption contained in Section 12078, if the sale, loan,
or transfer complies with the requirements of that applicable
exemption to subdivision (d) of Section 12072.
   (c) The sale, loan, or transfer of any firearm as described in
paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 12125.
   (d) The delivery of a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable
of being concealed upon the person to a person licensed pursuant to
Section 12071 for the purposes of the service or repair of that
firearm.
   (e) The return of a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of
being concealed upon the person by a person licensed pursuant to
Section 12071 to its owner where that firearm was initially delivered
in the circumstances set forth in subdivisions (a), (d), (f) or (j).

   (f) The delivery of a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable
of being concealed upon the person to a person licensed pursuant to
Section 12071 for the purpose of a consignment sale or as collateral
for a pawnbroker loan.
   (g) The sale, loan, or transfer of any pistol, revolver, or other
firearm capable of being concealed upon the person listed as a curio
or relic, as defined in Section 178.11 of the Code of Federal
Regulations.
   (h) (1) The Legislature finds a significant public purpose in
exempting pistols that are designed expressly for use in Olympic
target shooting events. Therefore, those pistols that are sanctioned
by the International Olympic Committee and by USA Shooting, the
national governing body for international shooting competition in the
United States, and that are used for Olympic target shooting
purposes at the time that the act adding this subdivision is enacted,
and that fall within the definition of "unsafe handgun" pursuant to
paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 12126 shall be exempt, as
provided in paragraphs (2) and (3).
   (2) This chapter shall not apply to any of the following pistols,
because they are consistent with the significant public purpose
expressed in paragraph (1):


MANUFACTURER       MODEL             CALIBER
ANSCHUTZ           FP                .22LR
BENELLI            MP90              .22LR
BENELLI            MP90              .32 S&W LONG
BENELLI            MP95              .22LR
BENELLI            MP95              .32 S&W LONG
DRULOV             FP                .22LR
GREEN              ELECTROARM        .22LR
HAMMERLI           100               .22LR
HAMMERLI           101               .22LR
HAMMERLI           102               .22LR
HAMMERLI           162               .22LR
HAMMERLI           280               .22LR
HAMMERLI           280               .32 S&W LONG
HAMMERLI           FP10              .22LR
HAMMERLI           MP33              .22LR
HAMMERLI           SP20              .22LR
HAMMERLI           SP20              .32 S&W LONG
MORINI             CM102E            .22LR
MORINI             22M               .22LR
MORINI             32M               .32 S&W LONG
MORINI             CM80              .22LR
PARDINI            GP                .22 SHORT
PARDINI            GPO               .22 SHORT
PARDINI            GP-SCHUMANN       .22 SHORT
PARDINI            HP                .32 S&W LONG
PARDINI            K22               .22LR
PARDINI            MP                .32 S&W LONG
PARDINI            PGP75             .22LR
PARDINI            SP                .22LR
PARDINI            SPE               .22LR
SAKO               FINMASTER         .22LR
STEYR              FP                .22LR
VOSTOK             IZH NO. 1         .22LR
VOSTOK             MU55              .22LR
VOSTOK             TOZ35             .22LR
WALTHER            FP                .22LR
WALTHER            GSP               .22LR
WALTHER            GSP               .32
                                      S&W LONG
WALTHER            OSP               .22 SHORT
WALTHER            OSP-2000          .22 SHORT

   (3) The department shall create a program that is consistent with
the purpose stated in paragraph (1) to exempt new models of
competitive firearms from this chapter. The exempt competitive
firearms may be based on recommendations by USA Shooting consistent
with the regulations contained in the USA Shooting Official Rules or
may be based on the recommendation or rules of any other organization
that the department deems relevant.
   (i) The sale, loan, or transfer of any semiautomatic pistol that
is to be used solely as a prop during the course of a motion picture,
television, or video production by an authorized participant therein
in the course of making that production or event or by an authorized
employee or agent of the entity producing that production or event.

   (j) The delivery of a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable
of being concealed upon the person to a person licensed pursuant to
Section 12071 where the firearm is being loaned by the licensee to a
consultant-evaluator.
   (k) The delivery of a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable
of being concealed upon the person by a person licensed pursuant to
Section 12071 where the firearm is being loaned by the licensee to a
consultant-evaluator.
   (l) The return of a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of
being concealed upon the person to a person licensed pursuant to
Section 12071 where it was initially delivered pursuant to
subdivision (k).



12133.  (a) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to a
single-action revolver that has at least a 5-cartridge capacity with
a barrel length of not less than three inches, and meets any of the
following specifications:
   (1) Was originally manufactured prior to 1900 and is a curio or
relic, as defined in Section 478.11 of Title 27 of the Code of
Federal Regulations.
   (2) Has an overall length measured parallel to the barrel of at
least 71/2 inches when the handle, frame or receiver, and barrel are
assembled.
   (3) Has an overall length measured parallel to the barrel of at
least 71/2 inches when the handle, frame or receiver, and barrel are
assembled and that is currently approved for importation into the
United States pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (3) of
subsection (d) of Section 925 of Title 18 of the United States Code.

   (b) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to a
single-shot pistol with a barrel length of not less than six inches
and that has an overall length of at least 101/2 inches when the
handle, frame or receiver, and barrel are assembled.