California’s Magazine Ban is Overturned By a Federal Court
Jose Nino
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On August 14, 2020 a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned California’s ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, claiming that the law infringes on the U.S. Constitution’s protection of the right to bear arms.
“Even well-intentioned laws must pass constitutional muster,” Appellate Judge Kenneth Lee wrote in the majority opinion. Lee declared that California’s prohibition on magazines holding more than 10 bullets “strikes at the core of the Second Amendment – the right to armed self-defense.”
He highlighted that California enacted the law “in the wake of heart-wrenching and highly publicized mass shootings,” but declared that it 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.”
California Rifle & Pistol Association attorney Chuck Michel described this decision as “a huge victory” for gun owners “and the right to choose to own a firearm to defend your family.”
This ruling could have an impact national due to the fact that other states have similar restrictions, However, it’s only applicable to Western states that fall under the appeals court’s jurisdiction.
It was a split decision. Two of the judge’s voted to overturn the state’s ban, while the third judge offered a dissenting opinion.
California is not a friendly place for gun owners as far as gun laws are concerned. According to Guns & Ammo magazine, it is currently ranked in 47th place in the magazine’s Best States for Gun Owners rankings.
When factoring in the Supreme Court’s disappointing decisions in the last few months, this latest appeals court ruling is a breath of fresh air.
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