It's true!
Buried deep in Penal Code - Section 12078, subdivision (t) paragraph (2) - is the exemption that many people are not aware of:
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"Subdivision (d) of Section 12072 shall not apply to the infrequent sale, loan, or transfer of a firearm that is not a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, which is a curio or relic manufactured at least 50 years prior to the current date, but not including replicas thereof, as defined in Section 178.11 of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations."
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12072 (d) is the part that talks about firearm transfer procedures for situations in which neither the buyer nor the seller is a licenced (FFL) dealer, C&R license holder, or law enforcement officer (IOW, ordinary folks buying or selling a firearm):
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(d) Where neither party to the transaction holds a dealer's license issued pursuant to Section 12071, the parties to the transaction shall complete the sale, loan, or transfer of that firearm through either of the following:
(1) A licensed dealer pursuant to Section 12082....
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If you want to check this out for yourself, please go to [url]http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html[/url] and search the Penal Code for the word "curio". Try fathoming the meaning of Section 12070 onward.
People who don't live in California may want to check this out for amusement. Reading California code is not something you can do quickly or casually. The Penal Code, particularly in regards to firearms, often is stuctured like this:
- You can't do anything
- - Except this
- - - Unless that
- - - - But this doesn't apply if you are one of these
- - - - - Unless you are also one of those...
- And none of the above applies to LEOs.
It's a nightmare, very easy to get lost.