2000
Assault Weapons
Identification Guide
http://caag.state.ca.us/firearms/forms/pdf/awguide.pdf
The purpose of this guide is to assist peace officers, firearms dealers, and the general public in the identi-fication
of assault weapons and to provide for the better understanding of some of the more significant
recently enacted legislation.
Category 1. The Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989
This was California’s first assault weapons act. Under this act, any firearm on a list specified in Penal Code
section 12276 is considered an assault weapon. Such assault weapons are controlled (i.e., may not be legally
purchased, kept for sale, offered for sale, exposed for sale, given, lent, manufactured, distributed, or imported)
after December 31, 1991, and were required to be registered as assault weapons with the Department of Justice
no later than March 31, 1992. In addition, the Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act controlled AK and
AR-15 series assault weapons (Penal Code section 12276, subd (e) and (f) - see Category 2). These assault
weapons are controlled regardless of whether they have Category 3 (Penal Code section 12276.1 - SB 23)
characteristics.
Category 2. AK and AR-15 Series Weapons
The California Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of
1989 in Kasler v. Lockyer. This decision took effect August 16, 2000. Effective August 16, 2000, firearm
models that are variations of the AK or AR-15, with only minor differences from those two models, are assault weapons under the original Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989. AK and AR-15 series weap-ons
are controlled as of August 16, 2000, and must be registered as assault weapons with the Department of
Justice on or before January 23, 2001. The only alternatives to registration are permanently removing from the
state, rendering permanently inoperable, destroying, or relinquishing the weapon to a law enforcement agency.
These assault weapons are controlled regardless of whether they have Category 3 (Penal Code section 12276.1 -SB
23) characteristics.
Category 3. Generic Characteristics
As of January 1, 2000, Senate Bill 23 (Chapter 129, Statutes of 1999) provides that firearms that have character-istics
falling under any of the categories listed in Penal Code section 12276.1 are also considered to be assault
weapons. These assault weapons are controlled as of January 1, 2000, and must be registered as assault weap-ons
with the Department of Justice on or before December 31, 2000. As an alternative to registration, these
weapons may be permanently removed from the state, rendered permanently inoperable, destroyed, relinquished
to law enforcement agencies, or have the assault weapon characteristics permanently removed before December
31, 2000.
CHAPTER 2.3. ROBERTI-ROOS ASSAULT WEAP-ONS
CONTROL ACT OF 1989
LISTING
The ACT provides in part:
12276. As used in this chapter, “assault weapon” shall
mean the following designated semiautomatic firearms:
(a) All of the following specified rifles:
(17) Armalite AR-180.
Armalite
AR-180
MANUFACTURER: various manufacturers
MARKINGS: Armalite AR-180 located on the right side of the receiver.
Comments: Various other markings, including the name of manufacturer, are found on the
firearm, but they are not material to identifying it as an assault weapon.
Generic Characteristics Defining Assault Weapons:
12276.1 (a) Notwithstanding Penal Code section 12276, “assault weapon” shall also mean the following:
Rifles
(1) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and any one of
the following:
(A) A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon.
(B) A thumbhole stock.
(C) A folding or telescoping stock.
(D) A grenade launcher or flare launcher.
(E) A flash suppressor.
(F) A forward pistol grip.
(2) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10
rounds.
(3) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has an overall length of less than 30 inches.