Handguns can only legally be purchased in your state of residence. That goes for private “unregistered” sales also.
Like the first replier said, she should get a CO drivers license or ID card.
I’m surprised that XD is not on California’s approved list.
That particular XD has a hard trigger. XD’s in general tend to have trigger over-travel and out of the box have a wide range of trigger-pull weights. There are after-market fixes though.
Other semi-autos for small hands that she might like are the new Glock 9mm single stack and Ruger’s LC-9S. Both are stricker fired with triggers that don’t require the hand strength of an arm wrestler.
I’ve fired both and have been very impressed. As much as I’m a big Glock fan, the Ruger’s trigger was quite impressive.
Can one legally be a resident of more than one state? I pay taxes and maintain domiciles in two. Could I purchase a handgun in either?