Per CA laws, it is illegal to CCW…
In a public place or on any public street if you are masked to conceal your identity [Cal. Penal Code § 25300]
Crud. How’s this going to work out?
USCCA legal team, feel free to comment now…
5 Likes
I would tell them you are not concealing your identity but following the Governor’s orders
12 Likes
Yes, that was my thought too. It’s a matter of intent. And the Governor’s order likely supercedes statute laws. Likely…
But “intent” is not how the law is written.
25300.
(a) A person commits criminal possession of a firearm when the person carries a firearm in a public place or on any public street while masked so as to hide the person’s identity.
4 Likes
Masked to prevent virus.
It’s all in the wording. If it’s good for the goose…you know the rest.
Just my opinion, not trusted legal advice.
4 Likes
Maybe @Dawn or @MikeBKY or maybe @Zee can shine some light or point in a good direction?
IANAL, but… I think intent matters a lot there.
4 Likes
Our discussion here depends on local police acting rationally.
Didn’t work out so well in Colorado springs last week with a retired CO state trooper and his daughter playing catch in the park, wherein they cuffed him for not providing ID over initially telling him to “distance.”
5 Likes
Are you masked to conceal your identity.
3 Likes
IF is the paraphrasing used by USCCA web site. Actual law cited is worded differently, and is less forgiving. I would hope that reasonableness would prevale, but that’s perhaps after a cop has confiscated your weapon and arrested you.
It’s hard to follow the rules and always try to be the good guy.
3 Likes
I do not think the language difference is significant. You are not hiding your identity anymore than wearing a hat or sunglasses that also obscure some physical features. Now if you were to wear a goalie’s mask, that would be different where all facial features are obscured.
9 Likes
If I were a member of the jury, I would construe “so as to hide the person’s identity” as meaning “with the intent to hide the person’s identity” or “for the purpose of hiding the person’s identity.”
It is not reasonable to assume that a person’s identity is hidden by such a mask. It is not even reasonable to assume that a person’s identity is hidden by a mask that covers their entire face. A person’s face is not their only identifying feature.
Besides, a person could very easily exhibit their name and other identifying information on their person and/or on their mask so that such information could be easily seen.
If I were in California, that’s what I’d do: Write in large font on the front of my mask, “MY IDENTITY IS _______. THE INTENT OF THIS MASK IS ONLY TO FOLLOW GOV. _____ EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. _______.”
5 Likes
I like it. In this environment and in CA, that actually sounds reasonable… 
3 Likes
I’m going out shopping and I don’t think at this point intent matters, however they are pulling people off buses for NOT donning a mask is getting a little extreme.
Actually not concealing identity, there’s an N95 mask under there. Afraid I’ll be attached for that! In my area they are warning nurses and doctors NOT to wear scrubs when shopping!
If I have to defend myself, the optics are terrible!
Would it make a difference if the mask was made up of Disney characters?
5 Likes
When I’ve gone out, I have worn a cloth/n95-ish mask under a neck gaiter, and usually a baseball hat or boonie hat. I am 100% sure I probably look like a criminal and almost every cashier has done a double take. I make it a point to smile (with my eyes) and say something charming/funny.
4 Likes
I agree 100% I never wear sunglasses indoors.
1 Like
I read a piece a few days ago about it being illegal in GA to wear a mask while carrying a firearm as well, (which was news to me), and pointed out the lack of any exceptions. A law abiding carrier could only hope the officer’s common sense would prevail.
2 Likes
I think common sense is out the window, when law enforcement is physically pulling people off busses for failure to wear a mask. In the U.S.
2 Likes
Agree completely, which is why I said ‘one could only hope’. Unfortunately, common sense seems to be in short supply these days.
2 Likes
Unless you have a huge Migraine! Trust me sometimes dark sunglasses in a dimly lite room is how you survive.
4 Likes
This joke is making the rounds…
Two masked men run into the local bank. The patrons are terrified of contracting the virus–until the masked intruders state, “This is just a holdup!”
6 Likes
Just gets back to concealed means concealed, so we don’t have to hope for common sense.
3 Likes