California
Permanent URL for this collectionhttps://dspace.firearmsresearchcenter.org/id/frc0001/3205
California
This jurisdictional hub aggregates FRC holdings related to California. It supports research on the state’s firearms history, technology, law, policy, and culture from the Spanish and Mexican periods through statehood to the present.
- Legal sources: statutes and session laws, administrative code, attorney general opinions, appellate decisions, and select municipal ordinances.
- Historical materials: newspapers, photographs, maps, catalogs, defense and aerospace industry records, law-enforcement and sporting archives, and oral histories tied to California people and places.
- Research outputs: technical reports, academic studies, training manuals, and curated datasets relevant to the state.
Cite the Firearms Research Center and the item’s handle/DOI when using materials. Rights and licensing vary by item.
Browse
28 results
Filters
Advanced Search
Filter by
Settings
Search Results
Item type:Item, The General Orders of the Board of Supervisors Providing Regulations for the Government of the City and County of San Francisco 95 (1881)(1880)Imposed license rates for sellers and keepers of gunpowder and shooting galleries.Item type:Item, Charter and Revised Ordinances of the City of San Jose 91 (1882)(1882)§§ 2-4: Prohibited the use or possession of any slung-shot, rubber sling, or other instrument or device by which missiles are hurled or projected. Also prohibited the wear or carry of any slung-shot, knuckles, or other similar instruments. Also prohibited the sale, or transfer to any minor under the age of twelve, any revolver, pistol, or other means to shoot bullets or missiles. Only public officers may wear or carry any pistol, dirk, or other dangerous weapon.Item type:Item, San Francisco Municipal Reports for the Fiscal Year 1874-5, Ending June 30, 1875, at 886 (1875)(1887)General Orders, Order No. 1,226-Prohibiting the Carrying of Concealed Deadly Weapons, § 1. Approved July 9, 1875: Prohibited the concealed carry of any pistol, dirk, or other dangerous or deadly weapon.Item type:Item, Charter and Ordinances of the City of Stockton 240 (1908)(1891)Ordinance No. 53: Prohibited the wear or concealed carry of any pistol, dirk, Bowie-Knife, slungshot, sand-club, metallic knuckles, or any other dangerous or deadly weapon.Item type:Item, San Francisco, Charter for the City 142 (1898)(1898)Every Police Officer shall, upon the arrest of any person charged with the commission of crime, search the person of such offender, and take from him all property and weapons, and forthwith deliver the same to the prison§keeper, who must deliver the same to the Property Clerk, to be by him kept until other disposition be made thereof according to law?Item type:Item, General Orders of the Board of Supervisors Providing Regulations for the Government of the City And County of San Francisco: Also, Ordinances of Park Commissioners 8 (1884)(1880)General Order no. 1,603-Relating to the Police Department, § 22-Prohibiting the Carrying of Concealed Deadly Weapons. Approved September 17, 1880: Prohibited the concealed carry of any pistol, dirk, or dangerous or deadly weapon.Item type:Item, Charter for the City and County of San Francisco: Proposed by the Board of Freeholders, Elected in Pursuance of the Provisions of Section 8, Article XI, of the Constitution of the State of California 31 (1883)(1883)Empowered the local supervisors to regulate the sale and use of guns, pistol, firearms. Prohibited the sale of any toy cannon, gun, pistol, or other toy weapon to any minor or children.Item type:Item, General Municipal Ordinances of the City of Oakland, California 15 (1909)(1909)Prohibited the carry of firearms, shooting of birds, or throwing of stones or other missiles within the boundaries of any parkItem type:Item, An Ordinance to Prohibit the Carrying of Concealed Deadly Weapons, in St. Helena Star, December 9, 1884, at 2(1884)Prohibited the concealed carry of any pistol, dirk, sword, slung-shot, or other dangerous or deadly weapon. Violators fined not less than ten nor more than fifty dollars or imprisoned not less than one day nor more than thirty days.Item type:Item, City Ordinances of the City of Needles, in The Needles Eye, November 29, 1913, at 3(1913)Chapter 4, Article 4-Concealed Weapons, §§ 60-61. Approved November 28, 1913. Volume 25, Number 48. (Needles, California): Prohibited concealed carry of pistol, revolver, dirk, derringer, dagger, Bowie-knife, razor, brass knuckles, slung-shot, sand-bag, or other dangerous or deadly weapon.Item type:Item, Fred L. Button, General Municipal Ordinances of the City of Oakland, California 218 (1895)(1890)Sec. 1, An Ordinance to Prohibit the Carrying of Concealed Weapons, No. 1141: Prohibited the wear or concealed carry without a permit of any pistol, slung-shot, brass or iron knuckles, sand club, dirk, Bowie-knife, iron bar, or other dangerous or deadly weapon.Item type:Item, Ordinance No. 10: An Ordinance Prohibiting the Carrying of Concealed Deadly Weapons, and Fixing the Penalty Therefor, in The Lompoc Record, August 21, 1888, at 2(1888)Prohibited the concealed carry of any pistol, revolver, dirk, stiletto, or other dangerous or deadly weapon.Item type:Item, The Ordinances of the City of Monterey: A Municipal Corporation of the State of California Under a Freeholder's Charter: Classified with Appendix Containing the Charter of Said City: February, 1913, at 112 (1913)(1892)Ordinance No. 49-To Prohibit the Carrying of Concealed Weapons, §§ 1-3: Prohibited the wear or concealed carry of any dirk, pistol, sword-cane, slung-shot, or other dangerous or deadly weapon.Item type:Item, Jener W. Nielson, Charter and Ordinances of the City of Fresno, California 52 (1916)(1891)No. 221, § 8: Prohibited the concealed carry of any pistol, firearm, slungshot, dirk, Bowie-knife, or other deadly weapon without written permission from the President of the Board of Trustees while within city limits. Violators guilty of a misdemeanor.Item type:Item, Jener W. Nielson, Charter and Ordinances of the City of Fresno, California 58 (1916)(1891)No. 221, § 53: Prohibited any junkshop keeper within city limits from hiring, loaning, or delivery to any minor under eighteen any gun, pistol, other firearm, dirk, Bowie-knife, powder, shot, bullets, any weapon, combustible, or other dangerous material without written permission from the parent or guardian. Note: California did not mention this only applied to junkshop keepers in their Rupp filingItem type:Item, L. W. Moultrie, Charter and Ordinances of the City of Fresno 30 (1896)(1896)Prohibited the concealed carrying of any pistol or firearm, slungshot, dirk, Bowie knife, or other deadly weapon, absent written permission.Item type:Item, Ordinance No. 6, in The Fresno Republican, November 7, 1885, at 3(1885)Prohibited the discharge of firearms within the corporate limits of the city. Violators guilty of a misdemeanor. Also prohibited the concealed carry of any pistol, firearm, slung-shot, dirk, Bowie-knife, or other deadly weapon.Item type:Item, L. W. Moultrie, Charter and Ordinances of the City of Fresno 37 (1896)(1896)Prohibited the transfer to any minor under the age of 18 any gun, pistol or other firearm, dirk, Bowie knife, powder, shot, bullets, or any combustible or dangerous material, absent written consent of parent or guardian.Item type:Item, 1933 Cal. Stat. 1169-71(1933)Prohibited a person, firm, or corporation from selling, possessing or transporting a machine gun. Punishable by imprisonment up to 3 years and/or fine up to $5,000. Also expanded machine gun regulations by prohibiting most sales and possession, broadly defining machine guns, authorizing permit revocation, licensing dealers, and requiring detailed sales records and inspections.Item type:Item, 1923 Cal. Stat. 696-700(1923)Prohibited committing a felony while armed with weapons named in §1 or while armed with any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, without having a license to carry. Violators shall be punishable by felony, with imprisonment in a state prison for not less than five nor more than ten years.Item type:Item, 1933 Cal. Stat. 925(1933)Ch. 337, § 1: Required every person, firm, or corporation who knowingly posses or transports any form of shell, cartridge, or bomb containing or emitting tear gas is guilty of a public offense. Violators sentenced to state prison not exceeding two year or by fine not exceeding two thousand dollars, or both.Item type:Item, 1931 Cal. Stat. 2316-17(1931)Ch. 1098, § 1: Prohibited noncitizens, felony convicts, or drug addicts from owning, possessing, or having under their custody or control any pistol, revolver, or concealable firearm; violators subject to fine or imprisonment.Item type:Item, 1927 Cal. Stat. 938(1927)ch. 552, §§ 1-2: Prohibited a person, firm, or corporation possessing a machine gun. Punishable by imprisonment up to 3 years and/or fine up to $5,000.Item type:Item, 1931 Cal. Stat. 2317(1931)Ch. 1098, § 9. Required every person in the business of selling, leasing, or otherwise transferring a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed, shall enter the time of sale, date of sale, name of the salesman, place it was sold, the make, model, manufacturer's number, caliber, and other marks of identification on such pistol, revolver, or other firearm.Item type:Item, 1895 Cal. Stat. 258(1901)§ 179: Prohibited the use of a shotgun of larger caliber known as a ten gauge. Violators guilty of a misdemeanor. Possession in the field, on marsh, bay, lake, or stream shall be prima facie evidence of its illegal use.Item type:Item, Nathan Newmark, The Political Code of the State of California: As Enacted in 1872, and Amended in 1889: With Notes and References to the Decisions of the Supreme Court 963 (1889)(1889)§ 153: Any Municipal Council shall provide, by ordinance, all funds receive for licenses of the storage, manufacture, sale of gunpowder, blasting powder, gun cotton, fireworks, nitro-glycerine, dualine, or any explosive oils or compounds, or as a municipal tax all the same. These funds will be collected into a "Fireman's Charitable Fund."Item type:Item, 1895 Cal. Stat. 183(1895)Amendments to the Civil Code, Chapter 168-An Act to Amend Several Sections Relating to the National Guard of California, § 1942: Prohibited militias to wear colors not associated with the United States. Prohibited any unorganized militia other than the regular organized National Guard in the state of California without a license from the governor. Violators guilty of a misdemeanor subject to arrest and punishment therefor.Item type:Item, 1917 Cal. Stat. 221-25(1917)Prohibited the concealed carry of any pistol, revolver, or other firearm without a license. Violators guilty of a misdemeanor. Also declared the unlawful carry or possession of any of the above items as a nuisance, to be confiscated by the police and surrendered to a judge. Confiscated weapons are to be destroyed at the end of the year.