By Raymond Hill  
Professor Emeritus, Santa Rosa Junior College 

A Flare Gun is Not a Firearm (29800(a)(1) P.C.) 

Peo. v. Gomez, 6DCA (4/7/25) 2025 WL 1024681, 2025 Cal. App. Lexis 226. 

Facts: After the defendant texted to his wife a picture of him holding a rifle, along with additional texts and emails threatening to kill her and take his own life, police searched his home and recovered ammunition and a flare gun. 

The defendant was convicted in Monterey County Superior Court on various offenses, including stalking, criminal threats and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon. He was sentenced to four years in CDC&R. 

Held: 6DCA ruled a flare gun did not meet the statutory definition of a firearm because it was not “designed to be used as a weapon.” A firearm is a device designed to be used as a weapon from which a projectile is expelled through a barrel by the force of an explosion or combustion (16520(a) & (b) P.C.) In contrast, flare guns are designed for use, for example, by a boat operator as a signaling device to expedite rescue efforts, by a firefighter to start a defensive fire or for vegetation management. As such, a flare gun is not designed to be a weapon as defined in ....