Sawed off shotguns are semi-illegal because of the National Firearms Act of 1934. In the twenties and thirties, the sawed off shotgun was a great favorite of gansters like John Dillinger, who usually wore the weapon under a trench coat to perpetuate a string of bank robberies and kidnappings.
The NFA outlawed fully automatic machine guns, as well as cut down rifles and shotguns. The NFA was supposed to apply to pistols as well, but that part was dropped before it passed. This law leads to some absurd results. For example, there are several models of pistols that are chambered for the .410 shotgun, such as any number of .410 derringers, or the Taurus Judge, and all pistols can shoot bird shot as long as it is chambered for that pistol. If you were to possess one of these weapons, it would not be a crime, but if you were to have a sawed off .410 shotgun, it would be a crime. Wierd hunh.
You can still legally own a sawed off shotgun, or a machine gun, IF you are an FFA dealer, which, I think requires that you fill out a lot of forms, have a clean record, and pay $300 per year. Then you have to register the gun, and never sell it to anyone who is not an FFA dealer.
In addition to the federal law, California has its own gun control laws which outlaw certain types of guns from being possessed in California.
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