You don’t need a permit to pack fake Civil War heat in vehicles

Q. Honk: This is my fourth attempt for a reply. I’m a reenactor for the Civil War and Revolutionary War. Our group has flintlocks and blunderbusses and the like we use for displays and acting. The reproductions fire blanks. Lots of smoke and noise. NO PROJECTILES!  Does one need a permit to transport these arms?

– Bob Hughes, Santa Ana

A. At first, Bob, Honk thought he had a leaky electronic mailbag.

But he scratched his noggin and then seemed to recall answering this question before for you … and he did, back in 2014!

Maybe you didn’t catch that column because you were out showing the public some good ol’ U.S. history.

It’s an interesting topic, so here is the answer again, albeit with a different California Highway Patrol officer and spokesman than last time stepping in as Honk’s expert:

“No permit needed,” said Officer Tino Olivera, who is based in the Santa Ana station house.

They are not actual weapons, he pointed out, but should still be transported while unloaded.

“It would be ideal to put them in the trunk,” he added.

You don’t want anyone – including an officer – to see them in the passenger’s seat and believe they are real.

Q. Recently I’ve noticed many drivers tinting their windshields dark. Is this permissible now? In addition, some cars, especially small imports, have strobe-like brake lights. What gives?

– Ben Perez, Placentia

A. A tinted windshield, except if slightly done at the factory under state guidelines, would likely get the motorist pulled over quickly.

“It is on the uptick, the windshield itself,” Officer Duane Graham, a CHP spokesman based in Westminster, said of after-market tinting. “I don’t know why. It could be a style thing.”

Such tinting on driver or front-passenger side windows is illegal, too, although those violations are commonplace, seemingly less likely to draw an officer’s attention.

Back windows can be tinted and, if you want, go ahead and paint ’em black so long as you can see well enough with side-view mirrors.

As to the strobe-like brake lights, yes, they are legal in California, so long as they flash four or less times in four seconds.

Honkin’ fact: Six U.S. mail carriers based in Long Beach were honored Thursday as new members of the Million Mile Club: In 30 years at work, during which the Postal Service estimates they each clocked in 1 million miles on the roads for their jobs, they have never caused an accident. Not even a fender-bender, said Evelina Ramirez, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service. If only the Little Honks could accomplish such a goal – or even Honk himself (He’s been, well, disqualified). Mrs. Honk will gladly tell you she deserves membership.

To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk.