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California Code, Penal Code - PEN § 25200

Current as of January 01, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a) If all of the following conditions are satisfied, a person shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine:

(1) The person keeps a firearm, loaded or unloaded, within any premises that are under the person's custody or control.

(2) The person knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to that firearm without the permission of the child's parent or legal guardian, or that a person prohibited from possessing a firearm or deadly weapon pursuant to state or federal law is likely to gain access to the firearm.

(3) The child or the prohibited person obtains access to that firearm and thereafter carries that firearm off-premises.

(b) If all of the following conditions are satisfied, a person shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine:

(1) The person keeps any firearm within any premises that are under the person's custody or control.

(2) The person knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of the child's parent or legal guardian, or that a person prohibited from possessing a firearm or deadly weapon pursuant to state or federal law is likely to gain access to the firearm.

(3) The child or the prohibited person obtains access to the firearm and thereafter carries that firearm off-premises to any public or private preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school, or to any school-sponsored event, activity, or performance, whether occurring on school grounds or elsewhere.

(c) A firearm that a child or prohibited person gains access to and carries off-premises in violation of this section shall be deemed “used in the commission of any misdemeanor as provided in this code or any felony” for the purpose of Section 29300 regarding the authority to confiscate firearms and other deadly weapons as a nuisance.

(d) As used in this section, “off-premises” means premises other than the premises where the firearm was stored.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - California Code, Penal Code - PEN § 25200 - last updated January 01, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/penal-code/pen-sect-25200/

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