Zoogster, I thought that it was only illegal to carry a loaded gun in 'prohibited areas' which include almso the entire state except the national forest AKA boonies.
Partially true in unincorporated areas.
But only partially because even many such areas have an ordinance against discharge of firearms.
If you look up the definition of 'prohibited area' as it applies in PC12031 it is:
(f) As used in this section, "prohibited area" means any place
where it is unlawful to discharge a weapon.
This covers even much of the national forest.
All it takes is the most minor of local or county ordinances outlawing the discharge of firearms and it triggers that statute, even if the local ordinance is punished by a $5 fine.
For example if you live in a county that says it is unlawful to discharge a firearm within 100 yards or 300 yards of a structure, then just possessing the loaded gun within 1oo or 300 yards of a structure becomes a crime under pc 12031.
That many defined yards around every single structure becomes a "prohibited place" as defined in that statute.
Similarly many places have rules against discharge of a firearm within X yards of a road. As a result it becomes illegal to even possess a loaded firearm within X yards of a road because that becomes a "prohibited place" as defined by PC12031.
Basically any place you cannot legally shoot the gun for recreation outside of things like hunting is a "prohibited place".
Hunting has its own exemption. For example I have lived in areas where hunting was done locally all the time. Yet a local ordinance prohibited discharge of firearms. Legal hunting while following the rules of hunting was exempt under the law, but the legal hunting was taking place in what is defined by PC12031 as a "prohibited place".
Meaning just a regular Joe not hunting and possessing a loaded gun in the same place would have been in violation of PC12031.
While hunting with a hunting license may look like a decent alternative to being disarmed, it also comes with all the rules of hunting to be legal, which are far greater than those typically encountered in defensive laws.
So it becomes even more complicated.
For example in California hunting after dark is illegal. This means possessing a gun for the purpose of hunting would also be illegal.
Some types of caliber and capacity restrictions exist for certain animals, and others take certain tags.
It also makes you subject to all the game laws because even if you have no intention of actually hunting or shooting an animal, you are officially hunting and that is the only legal reason you are in legal possession of a loaded gun.
It gets complicated and varies by county and unincorporated and incorporated regions of various national forest.
So it would be misleading to even state a solid legal means to possess a loaded gun as it varies too much by locale.
It is too varied to generalize for the entire state.
For example let us take Riverside:
Section 3. It shall be unlawful in either the Western Zone or the Eastern Zone for
any person to shoot or discharge any firearm within 300 yards of any occupied or
unoccupied building, house or dwelling place, without the written consent of the owner or
occupant thereof, or any shotgun within 150 yards, or any other firearm within 300 yards of
any corral, paddock, feed yard, dairy, barn or other farm building where cattle, horses,
sheep or other animals are raised, milked, fed, trained, housed or confined, without the
written consent of the owner or operator thereof, or within 300 yards of any park, public
campgrounds, or state riding and hiking trail, or for any person to shoot or discharge within
300 yards of any public highway, public road or public street any firearm other than a
shotgun used in lawfully hunting game pursuant to a valid hunting license.
Section 4. It shall be unlawful in either the Western Zone or the Eastern Zone for
any person to shoot or discharge within one mile of any incorporated city any firearm, other
than a shotgun used in lawfully hunting game pursuant to a valid hunting license.
Section 5. It shall be unlawful in either the Western Zone or the Eastern Zone to
shoot or discharge any firearm between one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour before
sunrise of the following day.
As you see handguns and rifles and shotguns cannot be 300 yards from certain things. While other things handguns and rifles cannot be within 300 yards of, but shotguns can be within 150 yards of them.
Because remember a "prohibited place" as described in PC12031 (statute against having loaded gun) is any place it is not legal to discharge that weapon.
That means some areas are prohibited areas for rifles and handguns and not shotguns, and some are prohibited places for all.
But notice it said "or within 300 yards of any park, public
campgrounds, or state riding and
hiking trail,"
Since it is illegal to discharge within 300 yards of a hiking trail under that local regulation, it becomes illegal to possess it loaded within 300 yards of a trail too.
Remember
the restriction may only say you cannot discharge it, but PC12031 says any place you cannot discharge it is the definition of a "prohibited place", so
you cannot legally possess it loaded where you cannot discharge it.
It would also become illegal to possess a loaded gun from "one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour before
sunrise of the following day" because if it becomes illegal to discharge it then it becomes illegal to possess it under PC12031 (unless exempt doing something like hunting which is illegal after dark anyways.)
So even though that local rule is just repeating a state hunting rule, because they include it that also becomes a "prohibited area" of an unincorporated location under PC12031 for non hunters to possess a loaded gun even in the middle of the forest.
I just grabbed the first county I could find the yardage on and the type of restrictions that define what constitutes a violation in a "prohibited place" to show you examples.
But most counties and local unincorporated areas have a different yardage or percentage or fraction of a mile, as well as define additional areas you can and cannot "discharge" (and by conclusion even legally possess loaded as defined by PC12031 as a "prohibited place") a firearm.
They are different in every county, and even at the local level. Some unincorporated areas have local ordinances against discharge in the entire area. Making the whole place a "prohibited place" exempt where otherwise exempt.
While incorporated areas are automatically even more restrictive under state law.
What this means is even on some isolated trails in the middle of nowhere in a national forest (national and state parks are much more restrictive) or on BLM land, or places you will walk by on such trails it can be illegal to possess a loaded gun.
Like walking say 300 yards from the wrong thing that you did not even know would be around the next corner.
