Uzi’s, AK-47s, AR-15s, Bushmaster semi-automatic rifles – all are banned by California’s Assault Weapons Control Act. Yet thousands of the guns legally remain in the state.
Anyone who registered an assault weapon with the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Firearms before Jan. 23, 2001, effectively was grandfathered in. All told, that’s 145,253 guns that would be illegal if purchased today.
Owners of these grandfathered guns need to keep a signed letter from the state proving they are the legal owner. They aren’t allowed to sell it or give it away; it’s a felony to transfer ownership of a registered assault weapon.


Three variations of the AR-15 assault rifle are displayed at the California Department of Justice in Sacramento, Calif. While the guns look similar, the bottom version is illegal in the state because of its quick reload capabilities.Credit: Rich Pedroncelli/AP file Credit: Rich Pedroncelli/AP file
“These weapons are appropriate on the battlefield, not in civilian hands,” said Laura Cutilletta, a senior staff attorney at the San Francisco-based Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. “We would rather there not be thousands of Californians who own military-style assault weapons. However, if a state is going to grandfather weapons, requiring registration and limiting transfer of grandfathered weapons, as California does, is critically important.”
Rick Travis, field director for the California Rifle and Pistol Association, the state affiliate of the National Rifle Association, declined to comment.
In addition to the host of guns grandfathered in and guns specifically made to sidestep provisions of California law, two other major exemptions exist: for law enforcement officers and for applicants who establish good cause for a special permit issued by the Department of Justice.
Examples of good cause recognized by the state include selling weapons to law enforcement or military, fulfilling government contracts, using weapons as props in movies or television shows and “maintaining a collection of destructive devices.”
California is one of nine states plus the District of Columbia that regulate assault weapons, according to the website smartgunlaws.org. And it was the first state to ban semi-automatic assault-style rifles. The law followed a 1989 shooting at Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, where five children were killed and one teacher and 29 students injured by a man armed with a semi-automatic AK-47.