PC 30600:
Assault Weapons Prohibition

California Penal Code Section 30600^[1] prohibits any person from manufacturing, distributing, transporting, importing into the state, keeping for sale, offering or exposing for sale, giving, or lending any assault weapon as defined in Sections 30510,^[2] 30515,^[3] or 30520.^[4] The same prohibition applies to .50 BMG rifles.

The Three Categories of Assault Weapons

California defines assault weapons through three overlapping statutory sections:

- Section 30510 includes Category One firearms on the original Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 list and Category Two AK and AR-15 series firearms.^[2] These include specific AK and AR-pattern rifles by manufacturer name.
- Section 30515 defines Category Three assault weapons by their characteristics under SB 23 (1999). A semiautomatic centerfire rifle that does not have a fixed magazine and has any one prohibited feature (pistol grip, thumbhole stock, folding or telescoping stock, grenade or flare launcher, flash suppressor, or forward pistol grip) is an assault weapon. Semiautomatic centerfire rifles with a fixed magazine capacity exceeding 10 rounds are also included. Similar feature tests apply to semiautomatic pistols and semiautomatic shotguns.
- Section 30520 addresses the Attorney General's identification and publication duties for listed firearms and firearms declared to be assault weapons by a court under former Section 12276.5. Section 30510(d) includes those court-declared firearms in the assault weapon definition.

Miller v. Bonta: Ongoing Constitutional Challenge

The assault weapons ban is the subject of a major Second Amendment challenge in Miller v. Bonta.^[6] In June 2021, Judge Roger Benitez of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California issued a sweeping ruling striking down the ban. The Ninth Circuit stayed the ruling and subsequently remanded the case for reconsideration under the Bruen framework established in NYSRPA v. Bruen^[5] (2022).

On remand, Judge Benitez again struck down the assault weapons ban on October 19, 2023, applying the Bruen text, history, and tradition framework and finding that the State had not established a historical tradition supporting its ban. The state appealed to the Ninth Circuit, where a three-judge panel heard oral arguments on January 24, 2024.

The panel deferred decision pending the Ninth Circuit's en banc ruling in Duncan v. Bonta (large-capacity magazine ban). After the Duncan en banc decision issued on March 20, 2025, the Miller panel ordered supplemental briefing to address the impact of Duncan. Both sides filed supplemental briefs in April 2025, and the case was resubmitted for decision. On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Grant v. Higgins and Viramontes v. Cook County and consolidated the cases to decide whether the Second and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee the right to possess AR-15 platform and similar semiautomatic rifles. On July 1, 2026, the Ninth Circuit vacated submission of Miller pending the Supreme Court's resolution of those cases. The assault weapons ban remains enforceable while the appeal awaits those decisions.

Penalties

A violation of Section 30600 is a felony, punishable by imprisonment for four, six, or eight years pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170.^[1] There is no misdemeanor option. This is a straight felony. An additional consecutive term of one year applies if the person transfers, lends, sells, or gives an assault weapon or .50 BMG rifle to a minor. If more than one assault weapon or .50 BMG rifle is involved, there is a distinct and separate offense for each, except for a first violation involving not more than two firearms as provided in Sections 30605 and 30610.

Exemptions

Section 30625 exempts sales to specified law enforcement agencies and state or federal military or naval forces, and their purchase, importation, or possession for official duties. Section 30630 permits specified transfers to sworn peace officers and their possession, subject to written agency authorization and registration requirements. Federal law enforcement members must be authorized by their employing agency. Under Section 30675, persons acting in accordance with Section 31000 are exempt from Section 30600. Under Section 31100, any individual may arrange in advance to relinquish an assault weapon to a police or sheriff's department.

See also: Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act (1989)

See also: Miller v. Bonta: Assault Weapons Ban Challenge