Does the act of being armed with a firearm necessarily require possession of a firearm?

of former section 12021, subdivision (a), because a conviction of this offense may also be based on a defendant's constructive possession of a firearm. [Citations.] 'To establish constructive possession, the prosecution must prove a defendant knowingly exercised a right to control the prohibited item, either directly or through another person.' [Citation.] Hence, while the act of being armed with a firearmthat is, having ready access to a firearm [citation]necessarily requires possession of the firearm, possession of a firearm does not necessarily require that the possessor be armed with it." (People v. Brimmer, supra, 230 Cal.App.4th at p. 795.)

"[A]rming under the sentence enhancement statutes does not require that a defendant utilize a firearm or even carry one on the body. A defendant is armed if the defendant has the specified weapon available for use, either offensively or defensively. [Citations.] As a recent Court of Appeal decision observed, 'a firearm that is available for use as a weapon creates the very real danger it will be used.' [Citation.] Therefore, '[i]t is the availabilitythe ready accessof the weapon that constitutes arming.' [Citation.]" (People v. Bland (1995) 10 Cal.4th 991, 997, italics omitted.)

As a result of these principles, "not every commitment offense for unlawful possession of a gun necessarily involves being armed with the gun, if the gun is not otherwise available for immediate use in connection with its possession, e.g., where it is under a defendant's dominion and control in a location not readily accessible to him at the time of its discovery." (People v. Elder, supra, 227 Cal.App.4th at pp. 1313-1314.) "A firearm can be under a person's dominion and control without it being available for use. For example, suppose a parolee's residence (in

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which only he lives) is searched and a firearm is found next to his bed. The parolee is in possession of the firearm, because it is under his dominion and control. If he is not home at the time, however, he is not armed with the firearm, because it is not readily available to him for offensive or defensive use. Accordingly, possessing a firearm does not necessarily constitute being armed with a firearm." (People v. Osuna (2014) 225 Cal.App.4th 1020, 1030, fn. omitted.)