Is it unlawful to carry a licensed concealed firearm to a protest in California?

1. What the recent court rulings changed — open carry versus concealed carry

A U.S. Court of Appeals panel recently ruled that California’s statewide ban on openly carrying firearms in most public places is unconstitutional, a decision that upends decades of state law rooted in the Mulford Act and opens questions about public carrying generally ^{[1] [7]}, but that ruling focused on open carry and does not by itself establish that concealed carry at protests is automatically lawful; appellate decisions and subsequent Supreme Court review are altering the contours of public‑carry doctrine and prompting challenges to other restrictions ^{[2] [5]}.

2. Existing limits that still matter — “sensitive places,” private property and new state statutes

Even before the open‑carry ruling, California enforced laws and regulations that prohibit concealed‑carry permit holders from carrying in many enumerated “sensitive places” — bars, parks, zoos, stadiums and museums were examples cited in earlier Ninth Circuit treatment — and the state has recently passed statutes restricting where concealed firearms may be carried, measures whose fate could be affected by the new legal wave ^{[2] [6]}. Separate new state laws and policy proposals in 2025–26 also reshape permitting, allowable locations, and storage obligations, meaning a CCW holder must still account for statutory exclusions and recently enacted rules ^{[8] [6]}.

3. Local rules and municipal bans on items at demonstrations

Cities can and do impose local bans on specific items at public assemblies: Los Angeles’s municipal code forbids possession of specified items at demonstrations and assemblies and local ordinances often bar weapons at rallies or on certain municipal grounds, which can make carrying—even concealed—unlawful at a particular protest site ^[3]. Research groups also record that many states and jurisdictions have explicit policies barring guns at demonstrations or on capitol grounds, so permissibility varies by location ^{[9] [10]}.

4. Criminal prohibitions everyone must heed — brandishing and intimidation

California criminal law makes it unlawful to brandish a firearm—merely exposing a gun can be a crime under California Penal Code §417—and advocacy organizations warn that weapons at protests increase risk and can trigger separate charges like unlawful intimidation or paramilitary prohibitions; thus a legally carried, concealed firearm becomes unlawful conduct if displayed or used in a threatening way ^{[4] [11]}.

5. The litigation and policy horizon — why uncertainty persists

State officials have signaled they will defend existing laws even as federal courts revisit them and the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to review other California limits on where guns may be carried, raising the real possibility that some current prohibitions will be struck down or narrowed while others survive; agencies and prosecutors are assessing options and enforcement discretion will vary while cases remain pending ^{[5] [12] [1]}.

6. Bottom line for someone with a CCW thinking about attending a protest

A concealed‑carry license does not give a blanket right to carry at every protest in California: the legality hinges on the specific location (state “sensitive places,” private property open to the public, municipal assembly bans), on avoiding any conduct that could be prosecuted as brandishing or intimidation, and on the evolving case law that may change where guns may be carried in public; readers should treat the law as factually contingent and tied to venue and ongoing litigation rather than as a settled statewide permission ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}.