It’s still virtually impossible to get a carry permit in California except for the Dianne Feinsteins. Luckily for me I have lived in crime-free areas and haven’t felt the need to carry. If a situation required it, I wouldn’t hesitate to carry my Ruger .357 despite the law.
I worked in Detroit during the 1967 riots, recently in the news because it’s the 50th anniversary. I didn’t carry back then but I had a revolver in my car. During the riots it was a season of open carry and I didn’t feel threatened by seeing everybody in the streets carrying a gun, I was comforted because it ensured that nobody was going to start anything.
Kern County, for instance, has a few concealed carry permit holders. Now of course, everything is relative, and there are some parts of California where it is practically impossible to own a concealed carry permit.
Maybe someday California will wake up, but don't hold your breath.