There are no new Red Dot ready pistols for sale in CA. If I were to have my carry pistols, an S&W 9 mm shield, slide milled to attach at Red Dot, could that work against me in court? Would having a laser be a better chose because there is no modifying the pistol?
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Wish I could give you advice, but I am in Florida and not familiar with CA specific laws. Hopefully some of the California guys on this forum can help you out. Are you saying no new Red Dot ready pistols are approved for sale in California, or are you saying all the distributors are sold out right now?
In the meantime, welcome 
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I know this isn’t helpful, but I get the impression that if you have to ask if anything regarding a firearm is legal in California, the default answer is “No.” It doesn’t seem like the most friendly 2A state.
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Correct.
These days if it’s something you want, it’s probably illegal in CA
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Hello and welcome to the community. You may want to call the local DA or talk with a police officer and ask that very question. Not trying to slur your home state but as wopped-up as the firearm laws are out there, I would not be surprised if there is a law specifically prohibiting that very thing. @Ouade5 and @Nathan57 are both probably correct in it’s probably illegal.
Also, remember this regarding a…
A laser works both ways. Especially where it would be most helpful, e.g., lower light situations. When you are engaging a target and line up for a shot, the laser is more than likely in a straight line to your noggin. Therefore, the threat does not have to aim at you, per se, they just have to aim where the laser is coming from which is, again, more often than not, directly in line with your melon. This is not an ideal situation for you. Sure, there are variables to this where you could be offset from behind your weapon or behind cover but a laser won’t help you in that case anyway. If you’re in a gunfight, you want every advantage you can get and having the threat know where the initial or next round is coming from is a plus check on their side not yours. Just my humble opinion. Anyway, welcome to the community 
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@Richard840
Welcome to the family brother and we are happy you are with us. CA is not a friendly 2A state. I would definitely talk to the LEOs in the area. They may not be sure of the answer but will tell you it is illegal.
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These are some past topics which were discussed in this forum which may be helpful to you.
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Welcome
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As far as I’m aware CA hasn’t added any new pistols to its “approved handgun list” in 15 years, so new guns with optics cutouts are not available.
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Welcome to the community @Richard840
It is always good to verify with a legal expert when it comes to CA’s multitude of anti self defense laws. The laws change quickly and you can follow them all to the letter and still get arrested. Then it will be up to you to prove your innocence. Not the way the laws are supposed to work in the US but that is life in CA where the laws are most often only used to protect violent criminals and petty thieves.
However I am aware of no CA laws that would make a red dot sight illegal. Perhaps an anti self defense DA would try some BS argument that you were trying to make your gun more deadly. But a decent defense attorney should be able to easily argue that you added the red dot to improve your accuracy and lower the risk of missing and injuring an innocent bystander.
You mostly would want to avoid any modifications that could render safety features inoperable or less effective. Adding a sight to assist your aiming should have no effect on any safety features. I haven’t heard of any safety issues caused by adding red dots. But I also haven’t looked into the issue extensively due to the cost of adding a red dot.
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[quote=“Wood, post:6, topic:92642”] …or
talk with a police officer and ask that very question.
[/quote]
A random police officer would be a lousy source to answer legal questions in general and questions about firearm law in particular.
Contact the DA’s office and get the name of the person who answered your questions.
Whatever happens in court will depend on a lot of variables in the case, not just the doodads or stickers on your gun.
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I agree with your thinking about lasers. I will give up the idea of making any malefaction to my carry pistol. Better safe than sorry.
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Thanks for the links.
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Tom Grieve, who is an excellent Wisconsin attorney, basically says in his video that any modifications, cosmetic or structural, to your handgun may be used against you in a court of law. Whether the modifications are legal or not in one’s state is another issue.
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Welcome to the community, komrade!
Part of the CCW class is a discussion of firearms laws so I suggest asking your CCW instructor.
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I’ve noticed most cops don’t know the law per se. They know their version of the law. Don’t know if I would trust the DA’s office either. I think I would try to find a knowledgeable trainer or maybe get one of the lawyers recommended in your area by the USCCA
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Welcome Richard! There’s a difference between legal and used against you in court. Keep it legal. If milling the slide is illegal then a reputable gun smith won’t do it. That said legal modifications that make you shoot faster and more accurately could be used against you down the road. I’ve shot competitively for years, and won and lost by mere hundredths of a second. So you have to ask yourself, in the real thing, will that few hundredths of a second be the difference between your family visiting you in jail or laying flowers on your grave. It’s your call!
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