Harrot v. County of Kings (2001) 25 Cal.4th 1138 (PDF, 93K) was a California Supreme Court case that held essentially that a semiautomatic centerfire rifle could not be considered an Assault Weapon unless and until it had been specifically identified in section 12276 of the Penal Code, the California Code of Regulations, or the so called Kasler list as promulgated by the California Attorney General (current combined list). Further the rifle had to be identified by the Attorney General by both make and model. Harrot judicially moots the "series" language in Penal Code 12276 (a)(1), 12276 (a)(5), and 12276 (e). In 2006 the Attorney General lobbied for and helped pass AB-2728 to give up the ability to add firearms to the list of named Assault Weapons. In January of 2007, AB 2728 took effect. AB-2728 foreclosed the chance that the Attorney General would be required to open a new registration window.
California also regulates semiautomatic rifles by features in Penal Code 12276.1 Generally, the Penal Code prohibits a semiautomatic rifle from having a detachable magazine and any one of a pistol grip, folding or telescoping stock, flash hider, forward pistol grip, or grenade launcher.
