California’s unique scheme to force gun owners to undergo background checks to purchase ammunition is not only ridiculous, but also now unconstitutional.
That’s the word from the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which in a 2-1 ruling Thursday determined that the Golden State statute violates the Second Amendment. The judges upheld a lower court’s permanent injunction against the law.
For the Ninth Circuit, such a ruling is big news.
Appeals court determined state did not meet Supreme Court’s requirements for gun control
Judge Sandra Ikuta blasted California’s law as one that “meaningfully constrains” constitutional rights. She further noted that the state did not come close to demonstrating that the statute is consistent with the country’s history and tradition of firearm regulation, as dictated by the 2022 Bruen decision.
She wrote, “By subjecting Californians to background checks for all ammunition purchases, California’s ammunition background check regime infringes on the fundamental right to keep and bear arms.”
The majority added, “Because California’s ammunition background check regime violates the Second Amendment, the district court did not abuse its discretion in granting a permanent injunction.”
Newsom yet again earned his anti-Second Amendment credentials
Needless to say, the state’s anti-gun regime was not happy.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is currently making the rounds, attempting to build support for what even the most casual observer knows is a run for the White House in 2028.
And while he has tried to distance himself from radical anti-gun positions he has always held, Newsom’s response to the Ninth Circuit’s ruling is telling.
The governor called the decision a “slap in the face” for his administration’s gun control agenda. “Strong gun laws save lives—and today’s decision is a slap in the face to the progress California has made in recent years to keep its communities safer from gun violence. Californians voted to require background checks on ammunition and their voices should matter.”
Controversial Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) declared that officials are examining their legal options after the setback. This could lead to an en banc review.
He claimed that “our families, schools, and neighborhoods deserve nothing less than the most basic protection against preventable gun violence.”
The lawsuit, Rhode v. Bonta, challenged Proposition 63, passed in 2016, which created the ammunition background check system. In its original form, gun owners were required to undergo an initial background check to buy rounds along with four-year ammunition permits.
Politicians later changed the requirement to apply to every single ammunition purchase.
In January 2024, U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez ruled the California law to be unconstitutional and granted a permanent injunction. The state appealed his decision and attempted to stay the injunction and judgment, and a motions panel granted this.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) noted that the language from a Bruen footnote indicated that some shall-issue programs would likely pass constitutional muster. The Ninth Circuit concluded that this caveat did not pave the way for legal background checks for ammunition purchases.
These, of course, are separate and distinct from licensing requirements to carry a handgun.
The majority also observed that California’s regime means that a background check is required every single time ammunition is bought. This is far more onerous than the standard shall-issue policy and aligns perfectly with the state’s goal of eradicating gun rights.
The Second Amendment stands in the way of an outright gun ban, so Golden State’s leaders do the next best thing. They throw every possible restriction against the wall to infringe on gun rights and see which ones find anti-gun judges who are willing to ignore the Constitution and federal law.
Thursday’s ruling is a giant step forward in restoring sanity.
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