Federal judge overturns California's ban on assault weapons

A federal judge overturned California's longtime ban on assault weapons on Friday in a ruling that likened the AR-15 to a Swiss Army knife. Assault weapons have been banned in California since 1989, according to the ruling. The law has been updated several times since it was originally passed. According to the ruling by US District Judge Roger Benitez of San Diego, the assault weapons ban violates the Second Amendment's right to bear arms and deprives Californians from owning assault-style weapons commonly allowed in other states. Benitez issued a permanent injunction Friday so the law cannot be enforced. "Like the Swiss Army Knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment," Benitez said in the ruling. "Firearms deemed as 'assault weapons' are fairly ordinary, popular, modern rifles."..The comparison of the AR-15 to a versatile pocket knife favored by campers drew sharp criticism from California officials including Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called the AR-15 a "weapon of war." The comparison, he said in a statement, "completely undermines the credibility of this decision and is a slap in the face to the families who've lost loved ones to this weapon." Newsom added: "We're not backing down from this fight, and we'll continue pushing for common sense gun laws that will save lives."...MORE

While critics have chosen to attack the Swiss army knife comparison, below is the language in the opinion to which they really object:

The Second Amendment “elevates above all other interests the right of lawabiding, responsible citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home.” Heller, 554 U.S., at 635. The Supreme Court clearly holds that the Second Amendment protects guns commonly owned by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes. At the same time, “the Second Amendment confers an individual right to keep and bear arms . . . that ‘have some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia.’” Id. at 622. And although the Supreme Court cautioned that the Second Amendment does not guarantee a right to keep and carry “any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose,” Heller, 554 U.S., at 626, lower courts have often cited this proviso about extreme cases to justify gun laws in average contexts. There is no evidence that the Supreme Court intended that language to be a license to avoid its common sense holding in average contexts. Unfortunately, Heller’s acknowledgement of exceptions for gun laws at the extreme is in danger of swallowing Heller’s rule for tThis case is not about extraordinary weapons lying at the outer limits of Second Amendment protection. The banned “assault weapons” are not bazookas, howitzers, or machineguns. Those arms are dangerous and solely useful for military purposes. Instead, the firearms deemed “assault weapons” are fairly ordinary, popular, modern rifles. This is an average case about average guns used in average ways for average purposeshe average case.

You can view the opinion here 

 

Federal court throws out California's ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday threw out California's ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, saying the law violates the U.S. Constitution's protection of the right to bear firearms. "Even well-intentioned laws must pass constitutional muster," appellate Judge Kenneth Lee wrote for the panel's majority. California's ban on magazines holding more than 10 bullets "strikes at the core of the Second Amendment — the right to armed self-defense." He noted that California passed the law "in the wake of heart-wrenching and highly publicized mass shootings," but said that isn't enough to justify a ban whose scope "is so sweeping that half of all magazines in America are now unlawful to own in California."...MORE

Fox News reports:

“It makes unlawful magazines that are commonly used in handguns by law abiding citizens for self-defense. And it substantially burdens the core right of self-defense guaranteed to the people under the Second Amendment,” Judge Kenneth Lee wrote in the majority opinion. “It cannot stand.”...It upholds a 2017 ruling by San Diego-based U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez, who blocked a new law that would have barred gun owners from possessing magazines holding more than 10 bullets.
But he and the appeals court went further by declaring unconstitutional a state law that had prohibited buying or selling such magazines since 2000. That law had let those who had the magazines before then keep them, but barred new sales or imports. California now has the option of asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision. It may also seek a delay on implementation of the decision to prevent a surge in purchases

The opinion, Duncan vs. Becerra is embedded below or I've made it available to download here

Attention NRA Members - Board Election - Vote for William H. Satterfield

If you are a voting member of the NRA, please vote for William H. Satterfield. We need to keep a true conservative on environmental law and strong supporter of our individual right to bear arms on the NRA board.

I've known Bill for many years and urge you to vote for him on the ballot to be found in the current issue of your magazine.

Here is some more info on Bill.

Colonel William H. Satterfield, USAR (Ret.), J.D. from Birmingham, Alabama, has been nominated by the NRA’s Nominating Committee for a third term on the National Rifle Association’s Board of Directors. For the past seven years, Bill has served on NRA’s Legal Affairs Committee, and he is one of ten Trustees for NRA’s Civil Rights Defense Fund. He is also a Trustee of the NRA Foundation, and he was recently elected President of the Foundation. During his six years on NRA’s Board, Bill has served as Chairman of the Elections Committee (twice) and on the Nominating Committee. He presently serves as Chair of the Ethics Committee, Chair of the Range Development Committee, and as a member of the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee.

    Bill had thirty-two years’ service in the Army Reserve, including active duty in Viet Nam and Thailand.  He was a President Reagan appointee as Associate Solicitor and Deputy Solicitor for the Department of Interior, and as General Counsel of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.  He is an expert in environmental and endangered species law. An avid hunter who has used firearms his entire life, Bill continues to work fighting environmental and anti-gunner attacks on hunting and shooting ranges.  He is also a strong supporter of competitive shooting... 

Supreme Court rejects NRA challenge to San Francisco gun laws

The Supreme Court has turned down another National Rifle Association-led appeal aimed at loosening gun restrictions and instead left in place two San Francisco gun laws. The court on Monday let stand court rulings in favor of a city measure that requires handgun owners to secure weapons in their homes by storing them in a locker, keeping them on their bodies or applying trigger locks. A second ordinance bans the sale of ammunition that expands on impact, has "no sporting purpose" and is commonly referred to as hollow-point bullets. Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas said they would have heard the appeal from the NRA and San Francisco gun owners. Gun rights supporters have been frustrated by the court's unwillingness to expand on a seminal gun rights ruling from 2008.  AP

California Gun Law Assailed as Back-Door Ban in Court - Smith & Wesson, Ruger to End Handgun Sales in California

Gun World co-owner Joseph Ferrero is telling customers it’s their last chance to buy some semiautomatic handguns including a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson M&P or a 9 mm Ruger LC9 because “California has effectively banned” them. The guns, which will remain legal for sale in other states, are being snapped up as enthusiasts at his Burbank store try to get ahead of tightening restrictions that firearms makers say amount to an indirect and unconstitutional ban in the largest U.S. state. California is the first to bar retailers from selling new models of semiautomatic handguns not equipped to imprint the weapon’s make, model and serial number on the cartridge when a bullet is fired. While microstamping technology is popular with law enforcement to help deter or solve crime, manufacturers Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (SWHC) and Sturm Ruger & Co. (RGR) say they won’t use it even if it means their guns can’t be sold in California. Bloomberg

And Fox News reports:

Smith & Wesson (SWHC) said it will no longer sell many of its semi-automatic handguns in California, following a new law in the state that mandates the use of microstamping technology. The decision follows a similar move by rival gun maker Sturm, Ruger (RGR), which recently announced that its handguns would be dropped off the list of approved firearms in California. The law, signed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2007, was approved for implementation in the Golden State last year. It requires that gun manufacturers add microstamping capabilities to all new or updated semi-automatic pistols. Microstamping is a technique whereby the firing pin doubles as a stamp, etching an identification code onto the primer. The code, which would theoretically help law enforcement trace rounds to the gun’s owner, is also engraved on the casing. Firearm makers like Smith & Wesson have argued that microstamping is cost prohibitive and won’t deter crime. The company said it will not include microstamping in its firearms. The law, signed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2007, was approved for implementation in the Golden State last year. It requires that gun manufacturers add microstamping capabilities to all new or updated semi-automatic pistols. Microstamping is a technique whereby the firing pin doubles as a stamp, etching an identification code onto the primer. The code, which would theoretically help law enforcement trace rounds to the gun’s owner, is also engraved on the casing. Firearm makers like Smith & Wesson have argued that microstamping is cost prohibitive and won’t deter crime. The company said it will not include microstamping in its firearms.

California Crime Drops As Gun Sales Surge

Los Angeles officials recently lauded their gun buyback program on Wednesday that bribed gun owners with a Ralph’s gift card worth either $100 or $200, depending on the type of gun they turned in. On Wednesday, the LAPD collected 2,037 guns including handguns, rifles, “assault” weapons and one rocket launcher. In total, these buybacks have pulled in about 10,000 California guns since the program began in 2009. While officials are celebrating these programs and saying that these events will make California streets safer, gun sales there have shot up significantly in the past 10 years. In 2002, 350,000 guns were sold in California, but last year, over 600,000 were sold. So a couple thousand guns were turned in last week, but that’s nothing compared to the hundreds of thousands bought last year alone. What’s also telling is the overall drop in crime that corresponded to the increase in gun sales:

 “Gun deaths and injuries have dropped sharply in California, even as the number of guns sold in the state has risen, according to new state data…. During that same period, the number of California hospitalizations due to gun injuries declined from about 4,000 annually to 2,800, a roughly 25 percent drop, according to hospital records collected by the California Department of Public Health. Firearm-related deaths fell from about 3,200 annually to about 2,800, an 11 percent drop, state health figures show. Most of the drop in firearm-related injuries and deaths can be explained by a well-documented, nationwide drop in violent crime. The number of California injuries and deaths attributed to accidental discharge of firearms also has fallen. The number of suicide deaths involving firearms has remained roughly constant.”