Contra Costa County Municipal Code Ch. 54-20 Saturday Night Specials—sale Prohibited

The purpose of this chapter is to ensure the health, safety, and general welfare of residents of the county of Contra Costa by eliminating the sale of cheaply made, inadequately designed and poorly manufactured handguns in the unincorporated areas of the county.

(Ord. 96-42 § 2).

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the term "Saturday night special," as used in this section means any of the following:

(1) A pistol, revolver, or firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, as those terms are defined in California Penal Code Section 12001(a), which contains a frame, barrel, breechblock, cylinder or slide that is not completely fabricated of heat treated carbon steel, forged alloy or other material of equal or higher tensile strength;

(2) A semiautomatic pistol which:

(A) Is not originally equipped by the manufacturer with a locked-breech action;

(B) Is chambered for cartridges developing maximum permissible breech pressures above twenty-four thousand one hundred copper units of pressure as standardized by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute;

(C) For purpose of this subsection (2), "semiautomatic pistol" means a firearm, as defined in California Penal Code Section 12001(b), which is designed to be held and fired with one hand, and which does the following upon discharge: (i) fires the cartridge in the chamber; (ii) ejects the fired cartridge case; and (iii) loads a cartridge from the magazine into the chamber. "Semiautomatic pistol" shall not include any assault weapon designated in California Penal Code Section 12276;

(3) A pistol, revolver, or firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, as those terms are defined in California Penal Code Section 12001(a), which:

(A) Uses an action mechanism which is substantially identical in design to any action mechanism manufactured in or before 1898 that was originally chambered for rimfire ammunition developing maximum permissible breech pressures below nineteen thousand copper units of pressure as standardized by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute;

(B) Is chambered to fire either centerfire ammunition or rimfire ammunition developing maximum permissible breech pressures above nineteen thousand copper units of pressure as standardized by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufactures Institute;

(C) Is not originally equipped by the manufacturer with a nondetachable safety guard surrounding the trigger;

(D) If rimfire, is equipped with a barrel of less than twenty bore diameters in overall length protruding from the frame;

(E) For purpose of this subsection (3), "action mechanism" means the mechanism of a firearm by which it is loaded, locked, fired and unloaded.

(Ord. 96-42 § 2).

The term "Saturday night special" does not include any of the following:

(1) Any pistol which is an antique or relic firearm or other weapon falling within the specifications of paragraphs (5), (7) and (8) of subsection (b) of California Penal Code Section 12020;

(2) Any pistol for which the propelling force is classified as pneumatic, that is, of, or related to, compressed air or any other gases not directly produced by combustion;

(3) Children's pop guns or toys;

(4) An "unconventional pistol" as defined in California Penal Code Section 12020(c)(12); or

(5) Any pistol which has been modified to either render it permanently inoperable or permanently to make it a device no longer classified as a "Saturday night special."

(Ord. 96-42 § 2).

The county officer and department designated by the county administrator shall compile, publish and thereafter maintain a roster of Saturday night specials. The roster shall list those firearms, by manufacturer and model number, which the designated officer or the officer's designee determines satisfy the definition of Saturday night special set forth in Section 54-20.004.

(Ord. No. 2024-23, § III(Exh. A), 12-3-24; Ords. 99-25 § 2; 96-42 § 2).

The designed county officer or the county officer's designee shall publish the roster of Saturday night specials on a semiannual basis and shall send a copy of the roster to every dealer within the unincorporated area of the county who is licensed to sell and transfer firearms pursuant to Section 12071 of the Penal Code of the state of California.

(Ord. No. 2024-23, § III(Exh. A), 12-3-24; Ords. 99-25 § 3; 96-42 § 2).

No wholesale or retail gun dealer shall sell, offer or display for sale, give, lend or transfer ownership of, any firearm listed on the roster of Saturday night specials. This section shall not preclude a wholesale or retail gun dealer from processing firearm transactions between unlicensed parties pursuant to Section 12072(d) of the Penal Code of the state of California. This section shall not be enforced until the roster of Saturday night specials has been completed and published in accordance with Sections 54-20.008 and 54-20.010.

(Ord. 96-42 § 2).

Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the disposition of any Saturday night special by police departments, sheriff's offices, marshal's offices, the California Highway Patrol, other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, or the military and naval forces of this state or the United States for use in the discharge of their official duties; nor shall anything in this chapter prohibit the use of any Saturday night special by regular, salaried, full-time officers, employees or agents thereof when on duty and the use of such firearms is within the scope of their duties.

(Ord. 96-42 § 2).