Let’s score another win for those who value gun rights. After the Supreme Court ruling on New York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, anti-gunner Democrats scrambled to enact legislation designed to further limit the right to keep and bear arms now that the court destroyed their cumbersome gun licensing schemes.
But now, the pro-Second Amendment crowd is going on the offensive, filing lawsuits challenging existing gun restrictions that violate the Bruen decision. So far, the effort seems to be going pretty well.
On Monday, a federal judge in Orange County blocked key provisions of a California law that restricts the sale of new handguns, ruling that certain aspects of the legislation violate the 2nd Amendment. The law was challenged in a lawsuit filed last year by the California Rifle & Pistol Association and other gun rights advocates after a landmark 2022 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court set new standards for evaluating firearm restrictions. This ruling put many laws aimed at regulating and limiting the sale and use of guns at risk of being struck down in California and other states run by anti-gun politicians, according to the Los Angeles Times.
U.S. District Court Judge Cormac Carney, presiding in Santa Ana, deemed California’s requirements for new handguns to be unconstitutional and unenforceable. The judge pointed out that since 2013, the state’s restrictions have prevented the approval of any new models of semiautomatic handguns for sale. This has resulted in Californians being forced to buy older and potentially less safe models.
In response, Carney issued a preliminary injunction that will take effect in two weeks, meaning that the state will have to stop enforcing the law. The delay allows the state Department of Justice to appeal the decision.
“The fact of the matter is, California’s gun safety laws save lives, and California’s Unsafe Handgun Act is no exception,” Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said in a written statement. “We will continue to lead efforts to advance and defend California’s gun safety laws. As we move forward to determine next steps in this case, Californians should know that this injunction has not gone into effect and that California’s important gun safety requirements related to the Unsafe Handgun Act remain in effect.”
A recent ruling by Judge Roger T. Benitez of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California has challenged state law requirements for new handguns in California. The law in question mandates that all new handguns have a chamber load indicator, a magazine disconnect mechanism, and microstamping capability to aid law enforcement in tracing spent shell casings back to the gun they were fired from.
However, Judge Benitez argued that no handgun available worldwide possesses all three features, and these regulations are significantly impacting Californians’ ability to acquire and utilize the latest handgun technology. This decision only applies to new handguns as older models have been grandfathered into the “roster,” which is a list of guns that have passed a safety test under the Unsafe Handgun Act.
The judge argued that “Californians have the constitutional right to acquire and use state-of-the-art handguns to protect themselves,” and should not be forced to rely on outdated models to ensure their safety. He added, “They should not be forced to settle for decade-old models of handguns to ensure that they remain safe inside or outside the home.”
Previous attempts to challenge the state law, filed before last year’s Supreme Court ruling, were unsuccessful. Chuck Michel, the head of the California Rifle & Pistol Association, expressed his support for the decision, stating that the three requirements were “impossible to satisfy.” He further argued that the “roster” law had deprived law-abiding citizens of their Second Amendment right to choose a handgun that meets their individual needs. He noted that if this Second Amendment win is upheld, people in California will have access to thousands of the latest, greatest, and safest handguns available today.
It’s about time the gun rights crowd started chalking up wins. With the Bruen ruling, this story will be among the first of many developments in which restrictive gun laws are struck down. This is a welcome sign.
California, like many other states, has been run by Democrats who deceptively claim that strict gun laws prevent gun violence despite all the evidence to the contrary. For decades, the anti-gunner lobby has controlled the narrative on gun control and has convinced many Americans to believe that making it harder for responsible Americans to own and carry firearms is the best way to keep people safe. In actuality, it only makes people vulnerable to criminals, most of whom obtain their guns illegally.
Even the FBI has been accused of hiding numbers related to incidents in which lawful gun owners use their weapons to save lives. It is clear that the gun control crowd has relied on lies to make Americans afraid of legal gun ownership. But the fact that more Americans have been purchasing firearms over the past three years indicates their deceptions are falling apart like the proverbial house of cards. Hopefully, this trend continues to gain momentum.
