Protective Orders in California — Firearms, Violations, and New Coercive Control Law

California family law intersects with multiple types of protective orders beyond the standard domestic violence restraining order. Understanding how guns and firearms are affected by restraining orders, what happens when a restraining order is violated, how protective orders interact with child custody, and what new legal protections California has added in recent years gives a complete picture of the protective order landscape.

Firearms and Restraining Orders in California

A domestic violence restraining order in California requires the restrained person to surrender all firearms and ammunition. Under Family Code section 6389, it is unlawful for a person subject to a DVRO to own, possess, purchase, or receive a firearm or ammunition while the restraining order is in effect. The restrained person must surrender their firearms to local law enforcement or a licensed firearms dealer within 24 hours of being served with a temporary DVRO, and must provide the court with proof of the surrender within 48 hours. Federal law — 18 U.S.C. section 922(g)(8) — similarly prohibits persons subject to domestic violence protective orders from possessing firearms. Violation of the firearms prohibition is a separate crime in addition to the restraining order violation.

What Happens If a Restraining Order Is Violated?

Violation of a restraining order in California is a misdemeanor under Penal Code section 273.6, punishable by up to one year in county jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000. A second violation within seven years of a prior conviction is a wobbler — it can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony. If the violation involves actual violence or a credible threat of violence, it is automatically a felony. Law enforcement is authorized to arrest a person for violating a restraining order even without a warrant if the officer has reasonable cause to believe the violation occurred. The protected person should call 911 immediately when a violation occurs and document it with photos, screenshots of messages, or other evidence.

Peaceful Contact Exceptions in Restraining Orders

Some domestic violence restraining orders include a peaceful contact exception — a provision allowing the restrained person to have contact with the protected person under limited circumstances, such as for child exchanges. These exceptions do not permit harassment, threats, or any form of abuse — only the specific type of contact explicitly permitted by the order. If an exception for child custody exchanges is included, the restrained person may only have the contact specifically permitted, and only in the way the order specifies (at a neutral location, with a third party present, etc.). Any conduct beyond the narrow permitted exception is a violation.

Criminal Protective Orders vs. Civil DVROs

A criminal protective order (CPO) is issued by a criminal court when a domestic violence case is being prosecuted. Unlike a civil DVRO, which the victim initiates, a CPO is initiated by the prosecution as part of a criminal proceeding. CPOs typically prohibit the defendant from contacting the victim and may impose additional conditions as terms of probation. A CPO and a civil DVRO can coexist — a victim may have both orders simultaneously. The two orders are tracked by different systems, but both are enforceable by all law enforcement. If the terms of the CPO and the DVRO conflict — for example, if the criminal court's CPO is narrower than the family court's DVRO — the more protective order controls.

New California Protective Order Developments — Coercive Control

As noted elsewhere on this site, California Family Code section 6320(c), effective January 1, 2021, added coercive control as a recognized basis for a domestic violence restraining order. This expansion of California's DVRO law means that courts can now grant protective orders based on patterns of controlling behavior — isolation from support systems, monitoring and surveillance, restricting financial access, threatening immigration consequences, and other controlling conduct — even when no specific physical act of violence has occurred. The coercive control amendment brought California into alignment with domestic violence research showing that the pattern of control, rather than any individual act, is the core of intimate partner violence.

Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Protective Orders

Technology-facilitated abuse — including monitoring a partner's phone, email, or social media without their consent; tracking their location through GPS devices or spyware; using smart home devices for surveillance; posting private images without consent; and harassment through social media or text — is recognized by California courts as a form of domestic abuse. A domestic violence restraining order can include provisions specifically addressing technology-facilitated abuse: prohibiting contact through any electronic means, prohibiting monitoring of the protected person's electronic devices or accounts, and requiring removal of spyware or tracking software. Evidence of technology-facilitated abuse — screenshots, expert testimony about installed tracking software, GPS records — is admissible in DVRO proceedings.

Furubotten Law, APC handles the full range of California protective order proceedings — DVRO, civil harassment, and elder abuse — for clients throughout Orange County and Riverside County. Call (714) 795-3862 for a confidential complimentary case evaluation.