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Legal Information: California

State Gun Laws

Laws current as of November 7, 2024

What is the definition of a felony?

Throughout these gun law pages, we will refer to gun laws that make it illegal for someone convicted of a felony to have a gun. A felony is a more serious crime than a misdemeanor. Under CA law, a felony is a crime that is punishable by death or by imprisonment in the state prison or county jail for more than one year.1

However, you cannot always tell if someone was convicted of a felony only by looking at the amount of time s/he actually served in prison since sentences are often reduced or pled down. If you are unsure if the abuser was convicted of a felony, you might want to talk to the prosecutor who handled the criminal case against the abuser to find out or go to the courthouse and search the conviction records.

1 Ann.Cal.Penal Code §17(a)

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