Source: http://wiki.calgunsfoundation.org/index.php?title=Defining_loaded_in_California&amp;oldid=59&amp;printable=yes
Timestamp: 2019-04-18 16:58:58+00:00

Document:
"Loaded" generally means ammunition is in the chamber or magazine well of a weapon.
Ammunition in magazines, clips or speed-loaders is legal.
Ammunition in the same case with the weapon is legal.
has a powder charge and ball or shot in the barrel or cylinder.
People v. Clark(1996) 45 Cal.App.4th 1147 , 53 Cal.Rptr.2d 99 specifically limited 12031(g) by holding that in order to be “loaded” a firearm must have ammunition “placed into a position from which it can be fired”. The case rested on the fact that a shotgun is not loaded when shotgun shells were attached to a shotgun inside a buttstock shell carrier.
shotgun and were not yet "loaded" as the term is commonly understood.
or absurdity. [Citations.]" (Beaty v. Imperial Irrigation Dist.
The holding of People v. Clark applies to all types of firearms, not just shotguns.
There remains a lack of clarity whether a detachable magazine with rounds in the magazine inserted into the magazine well of a firearm is loaded as this may constitute a loaded firearm However, People v. Clark makes it very clear that loaded magazines in the same case or on a person's belt but not in the magazine well do not constitute a loaded firearm. Loaded magazines in a buttstock like the SU-16CA but an empty chamber and magazine well would not constitute a loaded firearm.
There are uncommon exceptions in California law that state that a loaded magazine in the same area as an unloaded firearm constitutes a loaded firearm. Those exceptions are outlined below. Those alternate definitions also help prove the rule that the definition of loaded firearm requires rounds in the chamber or rounds in a magazine in a firing position directly attached to the action.
Some agencies are releasing materials their officers regarding Unloaded Open Carry which address the concept of loaded.
firearm or “loaded” for firing by some unconventional method.
elsewhere and not yet placed in a firing position.  People v.
Clark, 45 Cal. App. 4th 1147, 1153 (1996).
When is a firearm considered "Loaded"?
The short answer is that it depends on the circumstances.
a felony (12023 PC), then a special definition of "loaded"
sections 171c, 171d, or 12023.
in the case of People v. Harvey Lee Clark (45 Cal App. 4th 1147).
chamber. It had a buttstock shell holder which held live rounds.
Similar documents have been issued by the Orange County Sheriff's Office, CPOA, Los Angeles District Attorney's Office and Sunnyvale.
Ammunition may be carried in the same container as the gun – loose ammunition or ammunition in ammo boxes does not make a gun loaded, because the ammunition is NOT “placed into a position from which it can be fired”.
You may transport loaded magazines and speed loaders, so long as they are not inserted into the magazine well or cylinder of the firearm. That does not make a gun loaded, because the ammunition carried that way is NOT “placed into a position from which it can be fired”.
A loaded magazine is not the same as a loaded weapon, and possession of a weapon and a loaded magazine for that weapon does not, necessarily, mean you have a loaded weapon.
Anyone who asserts something contrary to the above 3 points is simply wrong. That does not mean you cannot be arrested by uninformed or badly trained law enforcement officer, or charged with the crime of carrying a loaded weapon by an uninformed or politically motivated prosecutor. It does mean that, if it goes to court and you have good representation, the prosecution should lose on the law. There are certain exceptions to this outlined below.
Your comfort level may lead you to do more than the law requires. Please also see Transport Restriction for Handguns for some important additional notes on transporting handguns in California.
The definition of "prohibited area" generally turns on whether the municipal or county code in that area prohibits the discharge of a firearm. Additional, Penal Code 374c makes shooting from any public road illegal.
There are rare exceptions to the rule of "ammunition in firing position" that do define a firearm as loaded when other factors are present.
16840(a) (old 12001(j)) only applies to 25800 (old 12023) (carry with intent to commit a felony).
the immediate possession of the same person.
intent to commit a felony is guilty of armed criminal action.
171e only applies inside the State Capitol, legislative offices, office of the Governor, Governor’s residence, etc.
any Member of the Legislature.
the residence of any Member of the Legislature.
immediate possession of the same person.
Note that these definitions say nothing about magazines, only firearm and ammunition.
firearm capable of being concealed upon the person.
So, if you either have a conventionally ‘loaded’ concealed weapon, or have the concealed weapon and ammunition for it, AND the weapon is not registered to you, you may get state prison instead of county jail.
additional term of 3, 4, or 10 years.
reasons for its enhancement choice on the record at the time of sentence.
enhancement choice on the record at the time of sentence.
Health and Safety Code 11370 and 11550 refer to a loaded firearm, but do not define loaded (see People v Clark notes above).
for sale or exhibition are exempt from this prohibition.
Penal Code 25850 (old 12031(a)) specifies that carrying a "loaded" firearm may be a crime if this occurs in a "public place".
street in a prohibited area of unincorporated territory.
A "public street" is fairly clear. What is a "public place"?
or lawfully possessed by the citizen or legal resident.
the application of Sections 25850 to 26055, inclusive.
Three California cases provide information on what courts see as 'public places' for purposes of 12031: People v. Green (1971) 15 Cal App 3d 766 (a hospital parking lot), People v. Vega (1971) 18 Cal App 3d 954 (a supermarket parking lot), and People v. Overturf (1976) 64 Cal App 3d Supp 1 (the driveway at an apartment complex). The locations in each case were private property, but places where the public ordinarily had access in order to do business.
to effect its [the code's] objects and to promote justice" (Pen.
plainly does not now contain.
For more discussion of the exceptions that allow unlicensed concealed carry see Unlicensed Concealed Carry.
This page was last modified on 30 May 2012, at 19:55.

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