California Penal Code section 171.5 is a California statute that makes it illegal to possess a firearm or several other kinds of weapons in an airport under certain circumstances. To be charged with a violation of this law, it is required that you:
The statute lists various different types of weapons and items that resemble weapons that are illegal to bring to the airport. They include:
It also specifies that it is not necessarily illegal to have these items anywhere in an airport, but only in “sterile” areas, which refers to anywhere past the TSA screening.
Possession of a weapon in an airport is considered a misdemeanor offense in California. The punishments could consist of:
There are several possible ways to defend yourself if you are wrongfully charged with violating PC 171.5. Some of them include:
Many individuals, mainly members of law enforcement, are exempt from airport gun laws. Included in this are peace officers, retired peace officers, certain military and ex-military personnel, and airport security.
It is common for people to accidentally bring items in their luggage that they did not mean to bring. For example, if you left a box cutter in a small pocket by accident, you couldn’t be charged with violating PC 171.5.
You can also defend yourself by showing that you didn’t bring the weapon into a sterile area. For example, if you were picking up a friend from the airport, and a security guard saw your weapon, you wouldn’t be guilty of violating PC 171.5 if you didn’t bring the weapon past TSA.
Lastly, it is possible for the prosecution to make a mistake when classifying your items as a “weapon.” The most common example of this is for knives, which you may be bringing with you for a purpose other than use as a weapon. As long as the knife is under 4 inches, it cannot be classified as a weapon under this law section.
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