Your Car Is Not Treated Like Your Home
In the Supreme Court case of McDonald v. Chicago (2010) the United States
Supreme court held that the Second Amendment guaranteed the right of citizens
to possess firearms in their houses. The case didn't extend the right
to cars. California doesn't extend that right to cars and has very
strict firearms laws. California Penal Code Section 12025 states in part
that a person is guilty of carrying a concealed firearm, if he "carries
concealed within a vehicle which is under his or her control or direction
any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon
the person." Penal Code Section 12031 also says that a person is
guilty of the separate crime of carrying a loaded firearm when he "carries
a loaded gun on his or her person or in a vehicle while in any public
place or on any public street in certain designated locations stated in
the code. It is prudent to transport a gun in a car while the gun is unloaded,
in a locked container, or in the trunk of the car. SUVs present an interesting
dilemma with the absence of a trunk. It would be wise to carry the gun
in a locked container in that scenario. As a Coachella Valley personal
injury lawyer I have had clients who were involved in an
auto accident
that was caused by a negligent driver and ended up having to face criminal
charges due to violating Penal Code Section 12025 discussed above. In
those cases, the police officer found the loaded pistol under the seat
of my client's car while investigating the accident. The pistol was
dislodged from under the seat as a result of the car crash. Your car is
not treated like your home under the California Penal Code.
Posted By
Barry Regar APLC
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